A Shinobi of Middle-Earth
by Deus Swiftblade
Summary: He had been wandering these lands for the longest time, having left his world behind when given the chance to do so. To most, he is simply a stranger who goes from one place to another. But when he invertedly gets himself involved with a quest that could mean the life or death of the world, he decides that it's time to stop being a stranger and be a part of something once more.
1. A stranger in the lands

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 1: A stranger in the lands

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Rivendell)

Lord Elrond Half-elven sat at his desk in Rivendell. He was waiting for Gandalf to arrive so that they speak with one another. It had been some years since they had talked with one another, but with rumors of dark things raising they were much too busy. But now, they must talk, for he had received strange news once too often.

"Father," Elladan said as he stepped through the door. "Mithrandir is here."

"Send him in," he told his son.

He stood aside and Gandalf the Grey came in. "Lord Elrond," the Wizard greeted him with a bow of his head.

He smiled and stood up from his seat. "Gandalf," he greeted him in return. He looked the same as the last time. His clothing was as grey as his name, with only a blue hat upon his head being the only different color. His staff was held in his hand, a gnarled and old wooden thing. Belted around his waist was the sword he knew to be Glamdring. "It's has been some time."

"Indeed it has. What have you summoned me for?"

"Please, sit." He sat down at his desk and Gandalf sat in the chair on the opposite side of the table, taking his hat off of his head. "Dark things and rumors have been around of late, my friend. Orcs have been seen in the lands around and near Imladris, attacking villages and towns of Men, always taking people with them when they flee."

Sorrow filled the Wizard's eyes at the news. "Can nothing to be done to rescue those who have been taken?"

"I have sent out riders to track down these orc bands, but it always seems to be unnecessary. When they find the orcs, they are already dead and the people who have been stolen have been taken back to their homes."

"Hmm, how interesting," he said, the sorrow being taken from his eyes. "I have heard similar things from the Rangers of the North as well as Rohan and Gondor. Orcs who raid and take prisoners are always tracked down and killed, the prisoners freed and returned to the nearest safe haven. But they never know who their savoir is. All they can remember is the sound of small bells ringing in the air and the cry of a bird before the orcs are slaughter."

"We have heard similar tales, but they also say that it is a Man and his hair is as black as a raven's. Already, there are those here who call this stranger Crabandir," the Lord of Rivendell told him.

Gandalf smiled. "Well, as names go, it's not a bad one."

"Gandalf, we know nothing of this person. Any and all attempts to find or track him have ended in naught. And this has been going for years now. How could such a person be hidden from all our efforts?"

"Do you believe that the Enemy would have one person attack his orcs and kill them so he might prove himself to be on our side?"

"We must consider all the possibilities," Elrond answered. "I would not put such a suggestion past the Enemy. Whoever this Crabandir is, he's not of Middle-Earth. No man would hide from us."

"We cannot judge him when he is not here to defend himself," the Wizard told him. "Perhaps, in time, he will reveal himself to us."

"Perhaps," he conceded. "If he truly is saving the lives of these people, he might not be with the darkness after all."

"Indeed. Now, I pray that you will excuse me," Gandalf said as he stood up from his chair again. "I must be off."

"And where are you heading now, Mithrandir?" he asked, curiosity filling his voice.

"I'm off to see an old friend and to celebrate his birthday." There was a smile on his lips when he spoke those words.

The Lord of Rivendell smiled too, for he knew who the Wizard was speaking of. "Give Master Baggins my regards when you see him."

"Of course," he said in reply before turning to the door, letting the sounds of the night and the light of the moon to fill the room. "Good night, Lord Elrond." He stepped out of the door and away from sight.

Elrond sat in silence as his old friend and ally left. Then he stood from his chair and went over to the balcony. He looked down at Rivendell, seeing all that it was. This stranger who walked through the lands as if he was a ghost troubled him. He felt a sense of something whenever he heard news of this Crabandir. A sense of someone he knew a long time ago, someone who was long been dead.

Before he knew what they were doing, his feet were taking him to one of the many halls in his home. He was alone as he walked, the sound of his feet filling the air as much as the sound of the water of the nearby river and the sound of the birds in the air. The night air was light and felt sweet upon his face, but he paid no attention to it. Soon he had left the open air and stood in another hall, looking upon a painting. _"You have been gone a long time, mellon,"_ he thought to himself.

(Location: Eriador)

The fire cracked and spluttered, giving somesmall light and comfort to those who sat around it. The girl and the boy he had rescued three days past had fallen asleep but he was still awake. All around them, the night was alive with the sounds of the forest. But he did not pay attention to the night. He only watched the fire.

It had been ten years since he had come here. Ten years since he and his friend (if not brother) fought against each other. Ten years since he was given one chance to leave and took it. Ten years since the power that came with the mark on his hand was sealed. Ten years since he took his first step onto the shores of this land. _"Ten years,"_ he thought to himself. _"It has been a long time."_

But it was not something he had hated. Before he had left, he wanted to destroy the world he knew and rebuild it so it would better. But when he left, he found that leaving the world that he knew was enough. It was better this way. The troubles of the world he knew no longer plagued and haunted him and his friends (for he did regard them as his friends once more, in that short time they had fought together again) would be safe from whatever harm he might've caused them.

A noise came from the lips of the boy; getting his attention and making him smile a little. At the beginning, he wasn't sure why he did this, tracking down these oni-like creatures, killing them, and rescuing those they had taken. But when he brought the rescued back to their home and saw their families hold them tightly with tears of in their eyes, he found that reason. It was so parents would never wonder what had happen to their children and the children could see their parents again. And once he was sure they were home, he would leave (although, there were times he stayed the night).

He also knew the people of these lands have tried seeking him out. He saw no reason for them to do this. He was content to be nothing but a stranger, a mere ghost to the people who lived here. _"I wonder what he would say about that,"_ he wondered to himself, thinking about his friend before chuckling a little. _"Heh, he'd probably praise me for saving these people and yell at me for hiding away."_

He stoked the fire, keeping its life going for a bit longer. It would ward off most animals that lived in the surrounding forests. When it died, his senses would be their shield. The children's home was two days from here if they kept the same pace. They would be home soon. Once he was done with the fire, he laid down next to it with his back on the ground. Within a few moments, he was asleep.

(Location: Arwen)

Her horse raced across the land, through plains and forests. She urged him on with all possible speed. She had to get to her home, to Rivendell. Frodo sat in the saddle in front of her, but she could feel him fading. The Morgul blade fragment was still in his heart and it was drawing him into the Shadow World. She needed to get him to her father so he can be healed.

But even as she raced towards home, the Nazgûl were following her, all nine of them. Even though she dared not look back, she could hear the pounding of their horses' hooves and their screeches of triumph of finding her. Soon they appeared to her sides and she could not help but look at them.

They were all cloaked in black robes, wearing armored boots and iron gauntlets. They rode horses that were as black as their robes. Beneath their cowls, there was nothing. Whatever had been of their former lives was no longer there to see. They closed around her, trying to box her in with their own horses. One of them reached out for the Hobbit she carried. His armored hand was all but a few inches from taking ahold of Frodo.

She quickly spoke to her horse, urging him to run faster, to break away from the trap they would be stuck in. He responded and raced ahead into the forest, breaking out of the box they would've been trapped in. She knew that wouldn't stop the Ringwraiths, but she knew where she was. If she could avoid them for just a little longer, she would reach the Ford of Bruinen, beyond that lay Rivendell.

After a few minutes of tense out-maneuvering and dodging, she burst out of the forest towards the Ford, going across it without any hesitation. A few seconds after she had crossed, the Nazgûl appeared. Their horses stopped at the edge of the Ford, hesitant to cross. They screeched in fury at what she had done. **"Give up the Halfling, She-Elf!"** one of them ordered her.

Frodo groaned, as if he heard those words. She drew her blade and held it high. "If you want him, come and claim him!" She shouted in defiance.

All nine drew their swords in response and began urging their horses into the water. But before they could even make a single step, the sound of birds chirping filled the air. Something leapt out from the forest and charged at the Nazgûl. In a single moment, she saw a streak of light and all nine horses were on the ground, dead, and taking their riders with them. As the Ringwraiths struggled to get free, Arwen saw what looked to be a man with a hat of some kind on his head and wearing a coat with red clouds standing in the river between her and them. "Go!" he commanded her without turning to face her. "Get to safety! I will hold them!"

She would've said that he was the one who should get to safety. But Frodo was getting weaker, she could feel it. "I will send aide to you!" she promised to him before turning her horse around and urging him on again.

She only focused on getting to Rivendell and was relieved when she finally saw it. Her horse galloped across the bridge and into the courtyard beyond it, getting the attention of the servants nearby, who rushed to her side. "Get this Hobbit to my father!" she commanded, helping them take Frodo off of the saddle. "He's been pierced by a Morgul blade!"

He was taken away quickly, which allowed three elves to appear before her. "Sister!" her brother Elrohir said when he approached her. Beside him was his twin Elladan and Glorfindel.

It was the third who she turned to. "Lord Glorfindel, you must take whatever warriors who are here and ride for the Ford at once!" she told him. "A man is there. He's holding off the Nazgûl and will soon perish if aide is not sent to him!"

The Elf-Lord turned away at once, calling for his horse and sword. Her brothers did the same, as did any elf who was a warrior. Within minutes, a score of them rode out.

* * *

"_This might've been a bad idea,"_ he thought to himself as he fought the nine creatures in the water, sword in one hand and kunai in the other. _"Have I been missing him so much, I'm channeling him?"_

When he first saw the woman fleeing from the black riders, he knew that she would not last. Assuming that the riders were just cloaked humans, he followed them and intervened, giving the woman the time to flee. It was only when the riders attacked him that he realized that they were not humans. He was able to hold his own, barely. But he would like to put that down to the number of them, not their skill or power.

He made sure to never let them encircle him; it would be the death of him if they did. He was always moving, evading and then counterattacking. Swords clashed against swords as they attacked him, never giving him enough time or space to weave handseals.

The sounds of horses mingled with the sound of the running river. Casting a quick look back, he saw riders appear at the edge of the bank of the ford. The creatures saw them as well. Screeching in either anger or madness, they fled back to the forest they had come out of, leaving him there, standing on the water.

Sheathing his sword and putting away the kunai, he looked around for his conical hat and saw the ruins of it floating down the river. Shame, he had liked that hat. It had been with him just as long as the coat he wore (which was now showed many cuts and tears from where the swords of the creatures had struck him).

"How do you fare, friend?" one of the riders called out to him.

"I'm fine," he replied without taking his eyes off where the creatures ran. He took a step in that direction and felt weak.

"Where are you going?" another of the riders asked him.

"After them," he answered. If he could track them down one by one, he could probably take them out.

Apparently, the riders seemed to think differently about it. "You are mad to go after them!" the first rider told him. "Do you not know what they were?"

"Monsters, that's all." That was all he needed to know.

"Those are not just any monsters. They are the Nazgûl, the nine Ringwraiths of Sauron. You are lucky to have lasted this long against all nine of them." From the way he said those words, the rider sounded surprised that he had lived, period.

"Not luck, just skill," he told them, still keeping his eyes on the forest. By now it was probably too late to keep pace with them, not in the state he was in.

"Friend, you are weakened and tired, I can see it in the way you hold yourself now. I beg you, come with us to Imladris. There is food and drink as well as a good bed."

He would've walked away, to go after those monsters. But the sound of a good bed, which he hadn't had since he brought those two children back to their homes five months ago and stayed one night, was too tempting to pass up. "Very well, I will go with you," he declared, turning to face them. There were twelve riders, lightly armored and carrying weapons. They held themselves with a grace he had only seen in the most experienced of shinobi and their ears were tapered. _"These must be the Elves I've heard so much of,"_ he thought to himself.

"I am Glorfindel of Rivendell," the rider in the front introduced himself. "And you are…?"

"Uchiha Sasuke," he answered as he came out of the ford, walking on the water until his feet reached dry land.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

What? Did you think I was always going to go with Naruto as the main character? I'll admit the original idea did have him instead. But after mentally fiddling with it, I decided to go with Sasuke instead.

And let me get this out of the way so people won't ask me about it for the rest of the story: there will be no romance for Sasuke. He's not going to fall in love with anyone from Middle-Earth, so don't start.

The original idea had called for him to voluntarily be exiled from the Elemental Countries after the war and after the trial he would've had be put through. But having read the most recent chapter, a change was need. Plus, it gave me a chance to seal away what was in his left eye. Can't have him be too overpowered now, can I?

The ten years between his arriving and the present day was put there because I didn't want to have him be a teenager when this all happened. Having him be a full adult gives him time to cool down a bit.

While I'm writing this story, I'm going to be drawing from the movie and not the books. I've tried reading the books and stopped after getting confused. But that had been when I was middle school. Maybe it's time to try again.

If there are any of you who think that the Elvish names and titles that I might come up with in the story sound and look wrong, please let me know. You would think that with all those Tolkien scholars out there, a dictionary would've been published by now. The man had created about five languages and the only thing I have for a translator is the Internet, not the best of things.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	2. To have a common past

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 2: To have a common past

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Rivendell)

When Frodo had been brought to Elrond, he began to heal the hobbit immediately. The process took more than a few days and even when it was done and Frodo had been saved, he was left in a deep sleep. It was only then that the Lord of Rivendell had learned that Glorfindel and his sons had brought who they believed to be Crabandir to Rivendell. During the time of healing, they had placed him in a spare room and allowed him to wander the halls, but always kept a close watch on him.

It was past time for him to introduce himself to his guest, as was his duty as a host. When Glorfindel told him that he was in one of the halls, he went to meet this Crabandir. He found the man standing before a painting and took the time to observe him. He was young, probably only twenty-seven or so. His hair was black and fell to the back of his shoulder blades in messy spikes while two locks fell down the sides of his face, resting on the chest of the coat he wore. The coat itself was black with red clouds outlined in white, but had cuts and tears on it. What skin he showed was fair, but his black eyes were focused on the painting, or rather, on one thing in the painting.

"You seemed to see one thing rather the whole," the Lord of Rivendell said as he walked forward, getting the attention of Crabandir. "What is it that you see?"

The young man turned his gaze to him, eyes instantly looking to see if he was a threat or not. "Who are you?" he asked, his tone guarded.

While the question might've sounded rude, Elrond took no offense at it. "I am Elrond, Lord of Rivendell, of which you've been staying in for the past few days," he introduced himself.

Those black eyes looked at him for a moment longer. Then they flicked back to the painting. "It is interesting to see a person stand before me and also see him in a painting that looks to be ancient," Crabandir remarked. "Either you are immortal, or you have an ancestor with whom you share the same face with."

"I have never shared a face with an ancestor of mine, and I was there in what the painting portrays." It portrayed the evening was after the Black Gate of Mordor fell and it shows all the leaders of the Last Alliance sitting around a fire. In the painting, he sat next to Gil-galad, the last High King of the Ñoldor, whose great glaive, Aeglos, rested by his side. Elendil, the High King of both Arnor and Gondor and his sons, Isildur and Anarion, sat opposite of them. His sword, Narsil, rested in his lap while he held a whetstone in his hand. At their side was Durin IV, King of the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm, his hand resting on his war axe.

Isildur and Anarion sat staunchly by their father's side while the Elrond in the painting did the same with Gil-galad. While Durin sat by the sides of Men, he did not look like he was speaking with them. The way the painting was created, they all looked to be deep in conference with one another. If not for the seriousness of the rest of the painting (which even showed the ruins of the Black Gate in the far background), it would've looked like they were having a conversation to pass the night.

But they were not who Crabandir was looking at. Instead, his eyes were focused on the Man who sat next to Elrond. He wore clothes that were not same to what the others wore. Save for a pair of pauldrons on his shoulders and a breastplate, he wore no armor. He was staring into the fire and the fire was painted in such a way, it blocked the view of his eyes, leaving only his eyebrows (which were cut short) to be seen.

"What is he doing in this painting?" Crabandir asked Elrond, pointing at the man.

"He was there, fighting in that war. It was because of him the Black Gate fell." He paused for a moment. "And he saved my life from ending at the hands of a Troll." Had it not been for that Man, his skull would've been crushed from a hammer.

"How much do you know of him?"

That was a strange question, to be sure. But one that had followed him ever since that man, who he had called mellon, had left Middle-Earth. "I'm afraid not much. Even the name he gave us was not his actual one. He had only asked that we called him Kage. He was a mystery to all of us, but he was invulnerable to the Alliance." Were it not for his eyes (for the Lord of Rivendell remembered the power those eyes had held), the Last Alliance would've lost more soldiers then they had.

Crabandir stood silent for a minute or so before he spoke again. "His actual name was Indra. He was the firstborn son of Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, the Rikudō Sennin," he told the elf. "To have found that he had been in this land is surprising."

Elrond was surprised to hear this come from a stranger in these lands. But the name he had been given had sounded just foreign as the name he had been given all those years ago. "And how is it that you know more about this Man then I do, even when you haven't met him?"

"Because I am his last descendent," he answered, finally turning to look at his host. "My name is not Crabandir; it is Uchiha Sasuke, last of the Uchiha clan."

It was a formal introduction and the Lord of Rivendell accepted it as such. "Welcome to Rivendell, Uchiha Sasuke," he said in greeting. "I apologize for not greeting you earlier."

"There's no need to apologize," the man told him. "You were busy saving that child's life. I was of secondary importance to that." There was also the fact that he had fallen asleep when shown his room and slept for a day, but there was no need to mention that to his host.

But now his host was confused. "What child do you speak of?"

He frowned. "The child that was being carried by the elf woman on the horse," he explained.

"That was no child, that was Frodo Baggins, a Hobbit," Elrond explained, realizing what he meant.

Now he was the one who confused. "What's a Hobbit?" He had been wandering these lands for the past ten years. He had met different kingdoms of humans and had heard of the Elves and Dwarves, but he had never heard of a Hobbit before.

"That, I'm afraid, is a question you shall have to ask a hobbit." It would be rather rude to speak of them when they are not there to explain it themselves ('though Men had often done that about the Elves and Dwarves). "Why did you fight the Nazgûl and allowed my daughter, Arwen, to ride for Rivendell?"

"She needed help. She would not have lasted against them."

A smile graced his lips when he heard that. "You do not know the Elves, my young friend. When she crossed the Ford, she was in my realm. All she had to do was speak the words and help would've come to her."

"I did not know that. All I know is that I saw someone standing against nine creatures while also carrying someone. If it had come to a fight, her attention would've been divided and she would not have lasted then. So I slew their mounts and fought them so she could flee to safety."

"There are very few who are bold enough to fight the Nazgûl, but never have they've done so against all nine. To do so would've been suicidal at best."

"You say that like I had intended to kill all of them at that moment," Sasuke remarked. "I had not. It was only after they had fled that I had planned to track them down and kill them off, one by one."

"You would not have succeeded. The Ringwraiths are not like Men, Elves, or Dwarves. They can sense each other and will hasten to another's aid if one of them is attacked." There were many records of how attempted ambushes of the Nazgûl always ended horribly.

"Then perhaps it's for the better that your man convinced me to come here." He paused for a moment, and then started talking again. "I'll only stay for a few more days and then I will be on my way." He had already been longer then he usually stayed at a place. It was time that he left.

"Actually, I hope that you will stay longer, young Sasuke," Elrond told him. "Events are taking shape that could change the world. For the better or for the worse has yet to be decided. Since Frodo has brought the One Ring to Rivendell, I have called for a council so that the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth may decide what to do."

"And why do you want me? I am not from Middle-Earth."

"That is true. But I believe that, like your ancestor, you will help decide the outcome. All that I ask is that you stay until all the delegates have arrived and that join the council when it is convened." It was a feeling that fueled his belief, for it seemed to him that the descendent was like the ancestor, only he did not know it himself.

But the young Crabandir only shook his head. "I can't. It's not my place. I am a stranger in these lands and I am content to stay a stranger."

"You have been a stranger for years now, Crabandir. I think it is time that you stepped out of the shadows."

Those words seemed to ring in his ears and his mind. How long had he been in the shadows and in the darkness? Even when he had come to these lands, he had stayed where it was most familiar and for good reason. But now, he was being asked to step out of what he knew and back into the light that he had abandoned when he was only twelve. He didn't know what it was exactly that made him think about it when before, his answer would've been no straight away. Maybe it was how the Elven Lord spoke to him or maybe it was how he sounded like he had faith in him.

An image of a moronic grin on a familiar blonde filled his head as he thought about that choice. _"Kami take you, Naruto,"_ he thought not unkindly. _"Why does your faith in me always seem to follow me around?"_ When they had clashed for the last time and Naruto was the one who stood over him in victory, he would've thought that faith would be shattered. But it remained firm when the blonde pulled him up by his marked hand and told him that he was being given one last chance to leave (it was only on the ship that Sasuke realized that was when the power in his marked hand had been sealed).

And now, someone else was showing him that same kind of faith. If the truth of the moment was being told, he found himself to be a little…scared by it, even hesitant. _"Let's just see where this goes,"_ he thought to himself, willing himself to step forward. "Very well, I accept your offer, Lord Elrond," He told the elf. "But if I'm going to join this council of yours, I will need to know what exactly is happening. Therefore, I need information."

"The libraries here in Rivendell are at your disposal," Elrond told him, glad to have him stay. "Is there anything else you will need?"

"…Needle and thread," he said after a moment of silence, lifting an arm to show the damage his coat had.

* * *

As the days went on and Rivendell waited for all the delegates of the Free Peoples to arrive, Sasuke busied himself with learning what he needed to know, repairing his coat, or just training. During this time, he had also given himself a bit of a haircut and rid himself of those two locks (they had been bugging him for the past month or so).

It was while he was training himself that he finally met hobbits. Or rather, they saw him before he saw them. "What do you think he's doing?" Pippin asked Merry as the two of them, as well Sam and Frodo (who had woken up only two days past) watched as the man moved around an empty courtyard. They were not the only ones to be watching, as Strider and the sons of Lord Elrond were watching too.

"Probably exercise," Merry answered him.

"But what kind of exercise?" he try to clarify. "Do you think it's some sort of dancing?"

"It certainly looks like it. But I think if we ask him that, it would be rather rude," Sam told them, As the hobbits spoke, the subject of their discussion spun in a half-circle and brought his hands out into a gesture that almost looked like they were pushing something away.

"Frodo, how do you fare?" Strider asked the fourth hobbit once he had realized that they were there.

"I'm well, Strider. Thank you," Frodo told him, walking over to him with the other three hobbits following him. He had been feeling much better since Lord Elrond had saved his life. "But my friends and I were wondering what exactly is he doing down there?" He gestured down to where the raven-haired man was still moving.

"No, I do not," he admitted.

"Perhaps Crabandir is just dancing?" Elrohir suggested with a small smile on his lips.

"See? I told you," Pippin told Merry.

"I think that Crabandir would take it as an insult if you called whatever it is he's doing a dance." Strider told the elf pointedly, turning to face him.

"A jest, Estel," he replied easily enough. "It was only a jest."

"But still, perhaps one of us should spar against him, to see how good he actually is," his twin brother suggested.

Elrohir smiled at that. "Perhaps two of us should do it," he suggested in returned, making his twin smile as well. They knew their strengths and they knew that there were a very few who could manage against both of them.

"Mister Elrohir and Mister Elladan, I think he is done," Sam told the two of them, looking down at the man, who had stopped moving.

The two brothers shared one more look with one another before descending down to the courtyard. "Well met, Crabandir," Elladan called out to the man.

He turned to see who it was that called for his given name, seeing that it was the twin sons of Lord Elrond. They had been his guides through Rivendell but in a sense, they were also his watchers. Whenever he delved into the library to find what he needed to know, they would stay in sight of him. "Which one are you?" he asked the twin who had spoken.

"I'm Elladan," he admitted. They had tried switching identities the first few days they had known him, just to see if they could fool him. But he always called them out on it and was proven right most of the time, so they just stopped.

"What do you need?"

"We were wondering if you cared to spare with both of us." A couple moments of silence followed that question and in those seconds, the twins took the chance to study their would-be opponent. His clothes showed how he had traveled all over Middle-Earth. His boots were from Rohan while his leggings looked like they had been made in Gondor. The stitching on his shirt showed that came from the North, but the design was not. If anything, the design of the short-sleeved shirt was so one end was pulled over the other and tied off (probably something from where he came).

But what caught the eye was the fact that his left arm, from the shoulder to fingertips, was covered in bandages. They did not know why that was the case, but they did know he could move it with perfect functionality. They could also tell that despite the different places he got the clothes, they had all been designed so that he could fade away from sight.

After those moments of silence were done, Crabandir finally spoke. "Fine," he told the two of them. His hand reached back and grabbed hold of what looked like some sort of iron bar to the hobbits.

But the twins knew that was only his sword and promptly drew their own. "We're ready to begin when you are." Elrohir told him.

"Then wait," he replied. His free hand reached for a pocket and pulled a strip of black cloth out from it.

"What is that for?" Elladan asked him, confused and curious about it.

"It's a handicap," he answered, more focused on tying the cloth around his eyes and making sure it was secure.

"Why is he doing that?" Pippin asked, very confused by what he saw.

"Does it look like I know, Pippin?" Merry asked back, sounding a little annoyed with the pointless question.

"Well, there has to be a reason," he protested.

"He did say it was a handicap," Frodo told the rest of his fellow hobbits. "But I do not know why he would want to do that to himself. Strider, can you guess?" he asked the man, who now stood closer to them.

"I am not sure myself, for I have never seen something like this before," Strider admitted. "Perhaps he means to practice using his other senses by forbidding himself from using one." It would certainly seem like. The few times he had practiced without the use of his eyes in swordplay, he had thought his sense of hearing and feeling had sharpened somewhat. But those feelings did not last long and he did not think much of it.

Once he was sure it was secure around his eyes, Sasuke looked in the direction of the elf twins. "Attack," he ordered them, keeping his sword sheathed but ready to use.

Elladan and Elrohir shared a look again. They had never really seen anyone do this and it made them uneasy. "Are you sure?" Elrohir asked him. "You do not need to fight blinded."

"Attack," he ordered them again, this time sounding a bit impatient.

They did as ordered, stepping forward as one and then breaking off so that they could attack from the sides. It was a tactic that they knew by heart, as was the sword-strike from above that followed. But what not the norm was the fact that Sasuke lifted his sword up to block the strikes, unsheathing it just a little so that the length would be long enough to block both. He sheathed the sword and dropped low.

He tried to knock them off of their feet with a kick, but they stepped back away from the foot. When the blindfolded man stood back up, they attacked again, trying to work as a coordinated team. It was an impressive display of swordsmanship and teamwork those who saw the spar would later admit (and the number of people watching was growing).

But despite their teamwork, Sasuke always parried or blocked their strikes with his sword still in its sheath. Whenever he moved, it seemed like he was acting just before they did, stopping their attacks just before they could actually do anything. And he never really moved. He might take a step forward or a step back, but it was only to block or parry. If not for those steps, he would've been like a statue.

"My old Gaffer would not believe this if he saw it," Sam declared as he watched the spar go on.

"_I_ don't believe this and _I'm_ seeing this," Merry told him, his eyes riveted on the spar. He didn't know one could use the sheath of a sword as a method to block things.

"Neither have Elladan or Elrohir," Strider remarked, watching the twins as they kept acting as a team. Whatever thoughts they had of this being an easy spar had long since vanished. The expressions on their faces had hardened.

Again and again, they kept attacking on the man they called Crabandir. And Again and again, he only blocked and parried (with the occasional kick or punch thrown in to keep them off balance). The sound of steel striking steel filled the courtyard as the three fought. More people were being attracted by the sounds of a fight. Even the delegates that had come for the council were looking in.

"What goes on here, Estel?" a long-haired, blonde elf asked Strider, walking up to beside him. He was dressed in clothes of green that would allow him to stay hidden from the eye in a forest and carried a bow on his back along with a quiver of arrows.

"Greetings, Legolas," he said to the elf in reply, knowing him to be the son of King Thranduil and a Prince of Mirkwood. "Lord Elrond's sons are sparring against Crabandir and are losing the spar."

"They fight against Crabandir? Truly?" the Prince of Mirkwood asked. The Woodland Elves had heard of this stranger who wandered the lands. They had even seen him pass through the forest sometimes, but he was always passing through. Whenever there had been an orc band going through the woods and there had been reports of the man, the orcs were killed long before the elves found them.

"An elf impressed by a man? This must truly be an interesting sight," A gruff voice remarked as two dwarves approached. Both were red of hair and had great beards on their faces, showing that they were related. In their hands, they carried axes in such a way that showed they knew how to use them. The elder of the two dwarves had been the one to speak.

It was Frodo who was the first to recognize the elder dwarf, even though they had never met. "You are Glóin, part of the Company that retook the Lonely Mountain," he said.

"Aye, that would be me," Glóin answered, looking at him. "And how would a hobbit such as yourself know about that?"

"My name is Frodo Baggins. My uncle traveled with your Company. He was supposed to be the burglar."

A grin broke out from the beard of the elder dwarf. "Ha! You're Bilbo's nephew! How has he been doing all these years?"

"He has been well. He's here in Rivendell, actually."

The grin grew even wider. "Then perhaps I should go and find him before I leave this place. It'll be good to speak with him again." His grin faded when he looked at Legolas. "I wonder if he remembers our entire journey fondly. I, for one, do not."

"Well met, Lord Glóin," the elf prince told the dwarf, looking over at him. "It has been some time since we met."

"Aye, it has been some time. And yet, now it doesn't feel like any time has passed." It would not have been polite to say there was a growl in his voice when he spoke those words, but it was there all the same. "Have you met my lad, Gimli," he asked, gesturing to the younger dwarf beside him. "I believe that you once called him a goblin mutant?"

Gimli looked like he had something to say about that, but Strider intervened before the conversation could to a direction they might regret later. "Peace, Lord Glóin," he told the elder dwarf. "Lord Elrond would not let the peace of Rivendell be disturbed before the council has even convened."

Glóin scowled for a moment, but then nodded curtly. "Aye, I suppose that would be true," he conceded. He turned his attention back to the spar. "So, who's the lad fighting the two elves?"

"The one called Crabandir, the stranger who does not give his name and hunts down orcs," Legolas told him. "Surely you've heard of him."

"The King under the Mountain has been getting reports from the King of Dale about someone bringing children thought lost in raids to the city and leaving before anyone could actually thank him. The children have apparently been calling him the Bell Man, for they always hear the chime of bells when he walks," Gimli said, admitting that they have heard of him, just not by the same name.

As he watched the spar, Glóin's eyes remained focused on the man. _"Hmm, why does it feel like I should know him?"_ he silently asked himself. There was something vaguely familiar about the lad but he could not figure out what it was.

The spar had now attracted a great deal of people. It was rare to see a non-elf be able to match speeds with an elf, it was rarer still to see a non-elf hold his own against two elves. And yet, Crabandir was doing just that. Never once in the entire spar had he fully drawn his sword from its sheath, only enough to get the length he needed to block the strikes from Elrohir and Elladan. His blindfolded face showed nothing that could reveal what he was thinking or planning. In fact, it showed nothing at all. It was blank.

Elrond's sons felt their strength start leaving them as they continued to fight. Their opponent somehow must've sensed this in them, for that was the moment when he finally acted. He shot out his foot at Elladan, hooking it behind his leg and pulling, causing the elf to fall to the ground. When he tried to stand back up, he found Crabandir's foot pressed lightly against his throat, in such a way that all he would have to end the elf's life was push down. His sword was now fully out of its sheath and pointed directly at Elrohir, who tried to attack from behind, its tip lightly touching his neck. "Yield," Crabandir ordered the two of them.

They had lost, that much was obvious and they both knew it. "We yield," they said in unison. It was enough as their victorious opponent removed both his foot and his sword from their throats and stepped back from them. The people surrounding the courtyard began to applaud the spar (the dwarves a bit more loudly then the others).

As he sheathed his sword and placed back behind him in between the two belts buckled around his waist, Elrohir went over and helped his brother stand back up. "That was well fought, Crabandir," Elladan said once he was back on his feet. "You are quite the fighter."

"I was holding back," he said in reply. "If I had been serious, you would not have lasted five seconds."

"Then it was good that we did not commit our entire strength to this spar," Elrohir remarked. What he didn't say was that was only at the beginning of the spar. As it went on, they used more and more movements that were designed for actual combat use. By the time it had ended, they were coming at him with the intent to kill.

"…If you say so," he replied after a moment of silence. He had noticed that their attacks had come faster and harder as the spar went on, but it didn't mean anything to him. He reached up and pulled the blindfold from his eyes, allowing him to see once more.

"Durin's Beard!" swore Glóin once he saw the eyes of the man, making everyone near to him look at him with surprise in their eyes. That surprise was doubled when he began to laugh and make his way down to the courtyard, getting the attention of the elves and man there. "Madara, lad!" he said to the Bell Man. "It's been sixty years and you still look the same as you did when you left. Don't tell me you've found out how to live forever from those elves! The rest of the lads won't let you off lightly for that!"

Sasuke could only stare at the dwarf in shock. "You…think I am Madara?" he finally asked. Most of the people he had met who knew Madara (few they be, and dead) had said that he looked more like Izuna. Had he changed so much in the past ten years?

The grin that had appeared on the dwarf's face faded a little. "So…you aren't Uchiha Madara?"

"I am Uchiha Sasuke," he clarified. "Uchiha Madara is my ancestor. How do you know him?"

The grin had turned to a smile. "The people of the Lonely Mountain and Dale are not likely to forget Madara the Dragon-dueler, who forced Smaug to the ground and tore off his wings, giving Bard time to shoot the Black Arrow," Glóin told him.

"What's all this noise going on here? I had never thought Rivendell would be so noisy." Bilbo remarked from behind everyone. Frodo turned to his uncle walk slowly towards the courtyard and a smile appeared on his face. He was glad to see the old hobbit, even when he looked much older than he did in the Shire.

Glóin looked up when he heard the voice of his old friend. "Bilbo, you old burglar, you look ancient!" he called up to the hobbit.

"You don't look any younger, Glóin!" he called down, a smile on his lips when he saw his old friend. "I'm surprised that hair of yours hasn't turned white already! It's no use trying to stay young; you're older than I am!"

"Don't worry, Gimli has been trying his best to turn my hair white, but he hasn't succeeded yet!" He looked back at the man beside him. "Take a look at this lad here, Bilbo. Does he remind you of anyone in particular?"

The elder Baggins peered down at Sasuke, narrowing his eyes a little as he looked. Then his eyes widened in surprise. "My goodness," he said. "If I did not know any better, I would say I was seeing a ghost. Madara, my dear friend, is that you?"

"_Madara was a dear friend to him?"_ Sasuke thought to himself, surprised by that. But while he tried to figure all that out, he noticed that there were too many people watching him at that moment. "Can we have this conversation privately?" he asked both Glóin and Bilbo. They had seen the same thing he had and nodded in agreement.

* * *

Once they had taken themselves away from the eyes of others, the dwarf and the hobbit told him about Madara and how he was a part of retaking the Lonely Mountain. It was a tale filled with richness of adventures and locations. If Sasuke was to close his eyes, he could all but see what they were talking of.

But what kept his attention was how they spoke of Madara. He remembered the Uchiha ancestor as an arrogant man who could back his arrogance with a lot of confidence, skill, and power who was also hell-bent on subjecting the entire world into a false reality. They remembered Madara as a man who was quiet but also had a sarcastic sense of humor. Out of all of the Company, he got along most well with Thorin and his nephews, Fili and Kili, and was devastated when they had been slain in battle. Once the Lonely Mountain was secured and the adventure over, he left the Company, disappearing forever. "We never knew what became of him," Bilbo finished.

"I do," Sasuke told him. "If I understand the time he was here in Middle-Earth correctly, it would've been after he left Konohagakure, the hidden village that he helped found. He came back and tried to destroy the village, only to be stopped by Hashirama Senju, the Shodaime Hokage."

From there, he told them all what had happened. He told them of how he had faked his death and weaved a great and terrible plan to pull the entire world into a dream-like state. He told them of how he lived to an old age and passed his plan to another Uchiha, who he had corrupted and manipulated into believing the same thing, before dying. He told them of when his soul was brought back to the living world to fight in a war and when he managed to bring himself back to life. And he told them he was defeated and killed. The only thing he didn't tell them was how he was killed and what happened afterwards (because that was something else entirely).

Both Bilbo and Glóin had saddened expressions upon their faces once he had finished telling his tale. "Did all that truly happen?" Glóin asked him.

"Aye, it did. I was there in the battle where he was killed," he answered with a nod.

"What exactly was this plan of his?" Bilbo asked.

"He would've cast a powerful jutsu on the moon, making it reflect down on the earth. Once people were in its light, they were trapped in the jutsu. He meant to strip the world of its free will, so that there would be no more struggles or conflicts."

The dwarf amongst them turned grim when he heard those words. "So that's what he meant that day."

"I suppose it does," Bilbo agreed solemnly. "What do you think would happen if we hadn't been grieving for Thorin, Fili, and Kili that day? Do you think we would've heard more then what he was just saying, Glóin?"

"Even if we did and even if we had asked him what he meant, would we have been able to stop him?" Glóin asked back. "You and I both heard of the power he used to help Beorn rescue them from the battle. Bard told us that it was the same power that allowed him to tear off Smaug's wings. I don't think we would've lived long if we turned against him."

"Did he say something particular?" Sasuke asked him.

"It was the night of Thorin's funeral. At the feast, we all shared a table. He had started wondering aloud about what there was a world that had no good or evil, no right or wrong, no winners and no losers. We had assumed that he was speaking from grief of being unable to save them, so we did not pay much heed to it. But within the next few days, he disappeared." He stood up from where he had sat. "Forgive me, Bilbo. But I should go make sure dwarves that came with me are settled in and not causing a mess that we're going to regret later."

"There's no need to apologize, Glóin. We'll talk later," the hobbit told him with a smile.

The dwarf left, leaving the old Baggins and the Uchiha alone. "…So, you are a hobbit," Sasuke finally said to break the silence.

It might've sounded rude, but Bilbo only smiled. "And you are one of the Big Folk. A rather strange one I might add," he said in reply.

"True."

"Have you ever been to the Shire in your travels?" The old hobbit had heard about the man sitting before him from Elrond at one time during a dinner they had together, so he knew of how long he had been here in Middle-Earth.

He shook his head. "No, I haven't. The Rangers kept its borders protected and I had no wish to test their anger in trying to get passed them. So I avoided those borders wherever they were. That and any oni that I was tracking never came near there."

"Oni?" Bilbo asked, a confused frown appearing on his face as he spoke. The word sounded strange to him, both to the ear and to the tongue.

"Those orc creatures," he clarified, having found their proper name only a week ago in a tome that told of how they were created. "In my language, oni means devil or demon."

"Hmm, an accurate description of them," the hobbit admitted. "There are some here who also wondered why you were tracking these orcs down in the first place."

"Are you one of those people?"

"Nothing of the sort," he answered easily. "But I can admit that I am curious about why a stranger in these lands would risk his life in tracking down and killing orcs."

"It hadn't been like that at the beginning," Sasuke admitted. "I had thought that they were one of the many natives to the land and stayed out of their way, lest I insult one of them or something like that. It was like that for about two years or so. Then I saw a band of them attack a small village, taking children hostage. I did nothing when it happened and then, I saw the looks of sadness and horror on the faces of the parents whose children were taken. I don't why, but I tracked the band down, killed them, and brought the children back to the village. I watched in silence as the children ran back to their parents, becoming engulfed in hugs by them, who openly wept in joy. After that, I kept finding more and more bands of orcs who had taken children and I went after them."

"And you rescued the children because it was the right thing to do?"

He paused for a moment, thinking it over. "Perhaps," he finally conceded. "But I did it more because so those parents would never have to fear for their children."

"Ah, now that is a good reason," the hobbit praised him.

"Yeah, it is." He stood up, feeling an uncomfortable feel. "Forgive me, I should go." He left the elder hobbit, only to run into the younger four nearby.

"Hello there, I'm Pippin and this is Merry!" the aforementioned hobbit introduced himself and the hobbit standing beside him. "That was something down in the courtyard."

"Pippin, I can introduce myself," the other hobbit said with a scowl on his face.

Sasuke didn't pay attention to them. Instead, he turned his attention to the dark-haired hobbit. "How are you?" he asked him.

Frodo was surprised to hear such a question from the man the elves called Crabandir. "I am better," he answered. "They say that you were the one who let Lady Arwen time to get to Rivendell."

"Aye, that was me." He kept looking at him until the hobbit who hadn't spoken stepped in between them. "And who are you? His yojimbo?" he asked. When he saw the odd look, he clarified. "It means bodyguard in my language."

"I'm his gardener," Sam told him.

He didn't say anything for a long moment. He just stared at the two of them, regarding them silently. "A very loyal gardener, I see," he finally spoke.

"Where are you from?" Pippin asked him, curiosity coloring his voice. "Not from Middle-Earth, I think."

"You would be right. I'm from Southern-Earth." It wasn't the actual name of his former home, but it was enough to satisfy them. "If you wish to speak to your uncle, he's back there," he told Frodo, gesturing behind him. He walked past and away from the four hobbits, keeping his pace quick.

It took all of his willpower to not break out into a run or to flee Rivendell right then and there. But when he finally stopped walking, someone else found him. "Are you always in a hurry to go nowhere, Crabandir?" asked an old man he remembered the other elves calling Gandalf.

"What's it to you, old man?" he asked rather rudely.

The Wizard just smiled kindly at him. "I am just curious, that's all. You've been a stranger to us for the past ten years and yet, you are here and invited by Lord Elrond to attend his council. Some might wonder what you said to have been given that honor."

"I said nothing. He was surprised to hear of my ancestry and believes that I'll help somehow." He looked at the grey robed man. "You knew my more recent ancestor." It wasn't a question nor was it an accusation. It was a statement of fact.

Gandalf didn't deny it. In fact, he nodded his head. "Yes. Actually, I was among the first of the people in Middle-Earth to meet Madara and had introduced him to Thorin while the Company was being formed. He was the only one who acted polite when they all met at Bag End, although he kept looking for a place to put his sandals. We never did find out why he kept doing that whenever we had found a house that had people living in it." He was reminiscing by the time he got to that last part. But he also sounded curious.

Thankfully for him, Sasuke had the answer to that. "In our land, it is considering rude to walk around a house with ones sandals or boots on, especially if you are a guest in the house." He actually had that problem when he was first wandering around Middle-Earth. But he figured out quick enough that people didn't find it so.

"Really?" asked the Grey Wizard. "How is it rude?"

He gave him a leveled look. "Would you want to clean up the mud tracks left by a guest who had just come in from the rain?" It was an answer every child knew, just not here.

"…Hmm, I see. But returning to your ancestor, I had thought he was a fine man, if not a little troubled." He gazed at Sasuke. "You seem to disagree and yet, you seem to be similar to him."

The last Uchiha winced slightly when he heard those words. "Uchiha Madara is not positively known where I'm from, not even by his own clan." Now that he thought about it, that was probably the same for him now too. _"I wonder if they are afraid of me as they were of Madara."_

"Nevertheless, he was a good friend who proved to be a valuable ally, just as his ancestor was with the Last Alliance."

He narrowed his eyes. "So you knew him too."

"Nothing of the sort," Gandalf replied. "My order came to Middle-Earth during the Third Age. The War of the Last Alliance ended the Second Age. It was Lord Elrond who told me of him later on. Both he and Madara helped the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth in their most perilous of times and now, you are here."

"I am here," he repeated. "Although the wrong line has been here, if truth be told," he muttered to himself. If anything, it should've been Asura, Hashirama, and Naruto here to do these things. The fact that it was _his_ ancestors was truly confusing. Why were they here? _"Why are you here?"_ a small part of himself asked back.

While he was musing, Gandalf had heard his mutter. "You may think that your ancestors did not need to be here, but they were here and they have done good things. And I believe that you will be the same," he told Crabandir.

"You have faith…in me?" the raven-haired man asked before barking out a laugh. "No one is their right mind should have faith in me. You and Lord Elrond are fools to think otherwise."

The Wizard smiled gently, somehow reminding him of the Sandaime Hokage. "Perhaps," he said. "Or perhaps it is you who has lost faith in yourself. Perhaps what is to come will restore your faith."

Now those words had really confused Sasuke. So much that he stood silently while Gandalf had left. Had he lost faith in himself? When Elrond showed his faith in him and Bilbo praised him, he did not feel right. He felt hesitant and nervous, even wanting to flee, all because they had felt that he was a good man. _"You're not a good man, you should know that by now,"_ that same part of him who had spoken before reminded him.

It was true, despite what people in these lands might think. He was not a good man. He hadn't been a good man since he left Konoha for Orochimaru. He wasn't even sure if he knew if he could be a good man again. _"Then again, Indra and Madara were not good men, yet they have done good deeds."_ That was most certainly true (more for Madara then Indra). But was that the reason they came here? So they could do one good deed in their lives? He started walking again, thinking that question over.

* * *

In the days that followed, that question fell to the back of his mind while he focused on reading up on the information and keeping his body trained. But he now also spent time with the four young hobbits, whether willingly or not (the not part usually came when Pippin came barging into the library to find him). Surprisingly, he found himself enjoying their company. They reminded him of days when he was younger and things were a lot less complicated, when he had a home and family. But with that, there also came moments of exasperation at Pippin and Merry and wondering if Itachi felt the same about him.

Yet, not even Pippin and Merry were invited to join the council once the last delegate had arrived at Rivendell. It was only two days after that the council had convened. They all sat in a courtyard, overlooking a small hill with foliage on it. The chairs they sat in were arranged in a half-circle, so they could all look at one another evenly. In front of them sat a stone pedestal with nothing on it.

Standing opposite of the half-circle was Lord Elrond and his attendants. As it was his council, he was the one to begin it. "Strangers of distant lands, friends of old, you've been summoned to answer the threat of Mordor," he began (Sasuke had a feeling that first bit was directed him). "Middle-Earth stands on the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite or you will fall." He looked at all who were there. "Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom." He turned his attention to the only hobbit who sat amongst them. "Bring forth the Ring, Frodo," he told the hobbit, gesturing to the pedestal.

Frodo stood up from his seat and walked to the pedestal, knowing full well that all the eyes there were on him. His right hand felt heavy as he walked, but he didn't stop. And when he placed the Ring on the pedestal, everyone began to whisper amongst themselves. "So, it is true," Boromir, a man from Gondor, whispered to himself.

Sasuke was quiet as he examined the Ring. It was a rather common looking ring, he had seen rings that had been more elegant or gaudy (depending on the design, how it was worn, and who was wearing). He had to admit that it did look perfect in its circular design and he was fairly certain that he had never seen a gold ring shine like that in the sun before. _"Wait, are those my thought?"_ he asked himself.

A noise to his side led him to see Boromir stand up from his seat. He had seen the Captain-General of Minas Tirith a few times during his years in Middle-Earth, but he had never met the man. It was always from afar and usually not that long. But now, he was here and he was speaking. "In a dream," he began. "I saw the Eastern sky grow dark. But in the West a pale light lingered." As he spoke, he slowly walked towards the pedestal. "A voice was crying, 'Your doom is at hand. Isildur's Bane is found.'" He reached the pedestal with a hand reaching out. "Isildur's Bane…" His voice was full of fear, but also longing.

"Boromir!" shouted out Lord Elrond as he stood up from his chair, trying to stop him.

But Gandalf beat him to it. **"Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul!"** the Wizard began chanting as he stood up from his chair, his voice becoming deeper and angrier. As he chanted, the sky darkened and the earth rumbled. Another voice spoke as he did, one that held much evil and sounded pleased that it could speak. The elves looked like they were in pain because of the second voice; closing their eyes and seeming willing it to stop speak. The dwarves had grabbed their axes and looked around for someone to fight while the men looked on worryingly (as did Frodo). **"Ash nazg thrakatulûk, ash burzum-ishi krimpatul!"** finished Gandalf, having drove Boromir back into his seat.

As the sky lightened and the earth went still, Elrond turned to look at the Grey Wizard. "Never before had anyone uttered words of that tongue here in Imladris!" he said angrily and sharply.

Sasuke wasn't exactly sure what had just happened. He had assumed that was spoken was the language of Mordor, having read about it. But what caught him by surprise that when Gandalf had begun chanting and the second voice had joined, his left hand began to burn, like it had been set ablaze. It was all he could do not to grab hold of it or cry out in pain.

"I do not ask your pardon, Master Elrond," Gandalf told him. "For the Black Speech of Mordor may yet be heard in every corner of the West!" he said to all those who were there. "The Ring is altogether evil!" He turned to go back to his seat, sitting down in it just as Elrond did in his own.

But Boromir was not done. "It is a gift! A gift to the foes of Mordor," he declared as he stood up once again from his chair. "Why not use this Ring?" He looked at everyone there. "Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people are your lands kept safe. Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy, let us use it against him!" he urged them all.

"You cannot wield it. None of us can," the man the hobbits knew as Strider told him, getting his attention. "The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master."

"And what would a Ranger know of this matter?" he challenged.

To Sasuke's surprise, it was one of the elves who came to the Ranger's defense. "This is no mere Ranger," he told Boromir, standing up from his chair. "He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance."

The Captain-General of Gondor looked at the Ranger with surprise in his eyes and on his face. "Aragorn?" he repeated. "This is Isildur's heir?"

"And heir to the Throne of Gondor," the elf proclaimed.

When he heard that news, Sasuke observed the now named Aragorn. He had read of Isildur and had studied the paintings Rivendell had of him. He knew full well that his ancestor and Isildur were supposedly good friends, just as good as Indra and Elrond were, and he knew that Isildur was the one who kept the One Ring after defeating Sauron. Now, his descendent sat in the council of Elrond and all eyes were on him.

He looked more than a little uncomfortable with the fact his heritage was revealed. "Havo dad, Legolas," he told the elf. While Sasuke did not understand what he had said, he could understand the meaning, especially when the elf sat down.

"Gondor has no King," Boromir declared to the elf. He turned his gaze upon Aragorn. "Gondor needs no King." He went back to his chair and sat down.

"Aragorn is right. We cannot use it," Gandalf said.

"You have only one choice," Elrond said as he stood up from his chair. "The Ring must be destroyed."

That caused a bit of stir among those who were attending. "Then what are we waiting for?" Gimli demanded. He stood up from his chair, grabbed his axe, and before anyone could stop him, swung it down at the Ring.

But the axe shattered upon impact and the dwarf was sent flying back to the ground. In the second of the axe actually hitting the Ring, Sasuke felt another lance of fire in his left arm again and he also noticed that Frodo had visibly flinched. Glóin and another dwarf went to Gimli's side to see that he was alright, but his eyes were focused on the smoking pedestal, where the Ring still sat amongst the remains of his axe.

"The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Glóin, by any craft we here possess," Elrond told the dwarf as he got back up and sat in his chair. "The Ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. It must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came." He looked at all of them there. "One of you…must do this."

The entire council was silent as they went over this prospect. It was a dangerous thing, to be sure. "One does not simply walk into Mordor," Boromir said aloud. "Its Black Gates are guarded by more than just orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep and the Great Eye is ever watchful. Tis a barren wasteland, riddled with fire and ash and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this." He shook his head as he spoke those last words. "It is folly."

"Have you heard nothing Lord Elrond just said!?" Legolas demanded as he stood up from his chair. "The Ring must be destroyed!"

"And I suppose you think you're the one to do it?" Gimli challenged the elf from where he sat.

"And if we fail what then?" Boromir demanded, standing up from his chair. "What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?"

The dwarf didn't seem to hear his question, as he leapt from his chair and stared defiantly at Legolas. "I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an elf!" he declared.

That got everyone to leap up from their chairs and begin shouting at one another. Even Gandalf joined in after a second of hesitation. "Do you not understand that while we bicker amongst ourselves, Sauron's power grows?! None can escape it! You'll be destroyed!" the Wizard shouted as he stood up from his seat and joined the argument.

The only people who still sat in their chairs were Elrond, Sasuke, and Frodo. And while the first two could only watch the shouting go on, the third's gaze was fixed on the Ring. As he saw all those who were arguing in the metal of the Ring, he saw a fire consume them all. To his ears only, he heard it whisper those words again and again.

"**Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk, ash burzum-ishi krimpatul. Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk, ash burzum-ishi krimpatul. Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk, ash burzum-ishi krimpatul! Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk, ash burzum-ishi krimpatul! ASH NAZG DURBATULÛK, ASH NAZG GIMBATUL, ASH NAZG THRAKATULÛK, ASH BURZUM-ISHI KRIMPATUL!"**

Over and over again, he heard those words whisper growing louder and louder. He felt like there was nothing he could do. That he should give up and run. But when he saw those flames seemingly engulf the people there, all the Elves, Dwarves, and Men who stood there fighting amongst themselves, the single Hobbit there cast one defiant thought at the Ring. _"No."_

And it was enough for him to find his courage and strength. "I will take it," he declared, standing up from his seat. But none of them heard him. "I will take it!" he said again, louder this time. "I will take the Ring to Mordor." The shouting and arguing dead as they all stared at him with surprise in their eyes. "Though, I do not the way," he admitted.

It was Gandalf who spoke first. "I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins, as long it is yours to bear," he said, walking forward and placing a gentle hand on the hobbit's shoulder.

Aragorn, who had stayed out of the arguing, stood up from his seat. "If by my life or death I can protect you, I will," he declared. He walked toward Frodo and took a knee. "You have my sword."

"And you have my bow," Legolas declared, walking forward as well.

"And my axe!" Gimli declared, joining them. The elf of the two didn't exactly look happy about that.

For a moment, it would look like no one else would join them. Then Boromir spoke as he came forward. "You carry the fate of us all, little one." He stopped and looked at Elrond. "If this is indeed the will of the Council, then Gondor will see it done."

A shout came from behind a couple of bushes and Sam appeared from behind those bushes, running up to Frodo's side. "Mister Frodo not going anywhere without me," he declared.

"_A loyal gardener indeed,"_ Sasuke thought to himself.

"No, indeed it is hardly possible to separate you," Lord Elrond remarked. "Even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not!"

"Wait! We're coming too!" Merry shouted from behind him. When he turned around with a look of surprise on his face, he saw the two other hobbits running in and joining the group. "You'd have to send us home tied in a sack to stop us."

"Anyway, you need people of intelligence on this sort of mission…quest…thing," Pippin told the Lord of Rivendell. The way he said it made Gandalf shake his head in exasperation.

"Well that rules you out, Pip," Merry told him.

For the longest moment, no one said or did anything. That moment was gone when Sasuke finally stood from his seat, bringing all eyes onto him as he walked forward to Frodo. "I've heard Bilbo speak of how Madara protected each and every one of the Company and how they did the same for him," he spoke to the hobbit. "If you will have me, I will do the same as my ancestor did for your uncle." Frodo gave him a small nod, which he took as acceptance.

"Ten companions…" Elrond said as he looked at them all. "So be it! You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring!"

"Right!" said Pippin. "Where are we going?"

While everyone stared at him, Sasuke stared up at the sky. _"Kami, you've given me Naruto in Hobbit form,"_ he silently accused the deity. _"Do you hate me that much?"_

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

So there's a bit more history of Sasuke's clan involved with Middle-Earth then just him. For the record (and to get it out of the way), yes, there will be a prequel to this story concerning _The Hobbit_. That was one of the reasons why I started this one. As for Indra, he'll be covered in later chapters.

If you think that the spar was a little one-sided, you'd probably be right. After all Sasuke's been through, I think that sparring against two elves while also doing it blindfolded would be a bit of a walk in the park for him. But that doesn't mean he's the strongest in Middle-Earth, remember that.

If you think about it, Pippin is a little like Naruto. They think before they act, drive older people nuts, and yet they still have a good heart. Perhaps being around him will be good for Sasuke.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	3. The first steps

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 3: The first steps

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Rivendell)

Sasuke stood alone in his borrowed room, looking down at the borrowed bed. His arsenal lay upon the bed and he was doing an inspection of each and every weapon. It was a slow process, as he was thorough. After the Fellowship had been formed, they waited about three weeks before planning to leave. The reason for the delay was so an actual path to Mordor could be made and decoy parties to be sent to fool the Nazgûl and any orcs that were keeping an eye on Rivendell.

He took up a kunai and examined it carefully. Since coming to Middle-Earth, his original supply of kunai and shuriken had all been exhausted. So he had been forced to have blacksmiths from all over the lands forge him new ones when he ran out. The end result was kunai and shuriken of different forging techniques and metals. Some were just as good as any made in the Elemental Nations and some could be considered garbage but he couldn't afford to be picky.

The one in his hand was from Gondor, it showed in how the light gleamed against the metal. It was impressive work and he would even dare say that it rivaled Elemental work. But that would've been based against work ten years ago. Who knows what could've changed in that time? _"No use asking that question when there's no one who can answer it for you,"_ he told himself.

He put the kunai down and picked up a shuriken. This was most definitely not made in Gondor. He had it made in a village forge up in the North and he knew that weapon prudes (like Tenten) would've thought that it was best suited for cutting meat in a kitchen. Well, he didn't have the luxury of being able to pick the best. He took what he could get.

He kept his inspection going, examining each and every weapon to ensure there was no rust or any damage to the weapon. Once he was satisfied that there wasn't, he would put them away in the seals on his right wrist, like he had done when he fought Itachi for the last time. Once they were all in the seal, he wrapped a bandage around the wrist, as to prevent him or anyone else from accidently releasing the seal and getting a kunai or shuriken hurtled at them.

The only thing left on the bed now was his chokutō out of its sheath. He took the sword in his hand, grabbed the nearby whetstones, walked over to the small pool of water that served as a drinking fountain (to him, at least), and began to carefully sharpen the edge of his sword. He stood there, going through the motions that kept his blade sharp. It was a slow process, but a necessary one.

He lost track of time as he did this, but once he was sure that the edge of his blade was sharp he put the stones away. He grabbed the sheath and slid the sword home. Once he had it put through the belt he wore at his back, he angled it so it could be drawn quickly. There was only one more thing left in the room he needed and that rested on a hook.

He took the coat of the Akatsuki off of the hook and put it on himself. The repair work he did was good enough to fool people from a distance. But once they got close, they would be able to see where the tears had been fixed. But that didn't matter to him. All that matter was that he could wear it without getting a chill through any holes.

As he was about to leave the room and go to where the Fellowship would be waiting, he stopped at the door when his eyes looked on a small, red book. It was something that Bilbo had given him a few days previous. "I only had enough time to write one copy when I was done," the hobbit had told him when he placed the book on the table. "And the Elves most certainly helped me when I couldn't write. But I want you to have this."

"Why?"

He smiled when he heard that. "You should read about how your ancestor was a good man, like I had known him. He deserves that much."

Those words were what made him pause. He kept looking at the book, like he was trying to find its answers without even opening the cover. He knew that wasn't possible, but he still did it anyway. Finally giving up, he grabbed the book and walked out into Rivendell.

The courtyard where the Fellowship was supposed to meet was not far from the entrance to Rivendell. There were already a few gathered when he had arrived, mostly the hobbits, elf, and the Wizard of the group. He did not say anything in way of greeting to them. Instead, he just stood off to the side and waited in silence.

It was Gandalf who saw him first. "Welcome, Sasuke," the Wizard greeted him. "Are you prepared for what is to come?"

"Are you, old man?" he asked back.

He only smiled. But the hobbits had something to say. "Why do you keep calling him an old man?" Sam demanded of him.

"Because he is an old man," he answered. "Why would I call him anything else?"

"Why not call him Mr. Gandalf? That's polite."

"Do not trouble yourself, Samwise Gamgee," the Grey Wizard said to him. "For Sasuke is just like Madara in this aspect."

"What aspect?" Merry asked, curious to know.

"That if you want his respect, you must earn it," he answered the hobbit. He cast a look over at Sasuke, who only nodded once in confirmation. That was indeed the truth of it. He did not give respect freely and truthfully, very few people in recent times had earned it. Hell, he could count that number on his hands and would still fingers to spare.

"What's this about respect?" Gimli asked as he strode into the courtyard. Both he and Legolas were courteous to one another but still a little standoffish. Some of the Fellowship hoped that this would not last for the entire journey.

"We're just talking about you need to earn respect from Sasuke there," Pippin told him, gesturing to where the man was standing.

"Aye, I've heard my father talk about how Madara was the same." The dwarf turned to Sasuke. "This I can promise you, lad. I will do my best to earn your respect, as my father did with your ancestor."

All Sasuke said was, "We will see."

"Oh come on, there's no need to act so quiet and cold," the Took of the hobbits told him. "We're a Fellowship now, we're all friends here." Unbeknownst to him, both the dwarf and the elf shared an uneasy look with one another at those words. The enmity of Dwarves and Elves was something that had lasted long before the First Age and those who wished it to pass would be hard pressed to make it so.

The stranger to Middle-Earth just looked Pippin straight in the eye. "You and I have very different definitions of the word 'friend', Pippin," he said. His definition was much tighter and colored.

"But are we not friends?" Pippin asked him. He stayed silent because he did not have a definitive answer to that.

"Leave it alone, Pip," Merry told his friend. "You don't need to ask if we're friends if you already are, you know that."

Sasuke did not say anything in response to that. Instead he allowed his eyes to wander and find something else to talk about. He found it on Frodo. "Is that a new sword?" he asked the hobbit, getting the attention of everyone else.

"It's more like an old sword," Frodo answered, his hand going to the hilt of the sword and drawing it so everyone could see it. "This is Sting, the sword Bilbo found in the Troll cave."

"Ah, that's what he was planning to do with it," Gandalf said when he looked upon the sword. He had seen Bilbo checking the sword carefully in the days before today. Now he knew why.

When he saw the sword, Sasuke could see it was a beautiful blade. Where his weapons from Gondor gleamed in the light, this blade glowed subtly of silver when the light fell upon it. It had the vague shape of a leaf and the handle had silver linings in the shape of vines in it. On the blade was an inscription of Elvish that curved slightly to one end before going to the other end. He could not read the inscription, but that not of major importance.

"Can you wield it?" he asked Frodo.

"Of course I can."

"Then show me." He took a few steps forward into an open area of the courtyard and then turned to face the hobbit. "Attack me."

"What?" a surprised Frodo asked.

"I want to see how good you are. So attack me with your Sting."

He looked back at Gandalf, looking for guidance. The Wizard said nothing, which meant there would be no guidance. Seeing no other option (for he did not think Sasuke could be reasoned with at this moment), he stepped forward and hesitantly attacked the man.

But his attack didn't even make contact. When he raised his sword to strike, Sasuke moved forward and slammed the palm of his hand into his chest, pushing him back. "You're liable to end up dead in a fight if you hesitate like that," he told the hobbit. "Strike to kill me."

To his credit, Frodo did not say he couldn't do that. Instead, he came back at him with no hesitation. However, none of the hobbit's attack even touched the man. Sasuke could tell that he was an amateur with that sword. All he had to do was stay out of its path and he could do that by twisting and turning his body.

This went on for another minute and Frodo never once struck him. Sasuke finally decided to end it and he did it by knocking the hobbit off of his feet, sending him onto his back. "You need training," he declared as he held him down with his hand. He kept the hold for only a second before releasing it and stepping back. He looked at the other three hobbits. Merry and Pippin looked at him with awe but Sam looked like he wanted to attack him.

"What goes on here?" Boromir asked as he entered the courtyard, ready to leave.

Sasuke looked over at him. "I was proving a point to the hobbits. They might wield weapons, but they don't know how to use them."

"That can be easily rectified."

"Good. Then you can take care of it," he declared, walking away from Frodo.

The Captain-General amongst them was caught off guard by the declaration but that would not stop him. If there were people who needed to be trained to handle a sword, he would gladly help. So all he did was nod in response.

"I think you've managed to annoy Master Gamgee over there," Gimli remarked to Sasuke, looking over at the hobbit in question, who did have a look of annoyance on his face.

"All I did was show how new they are to swords," Crabandir said in reply. "And it's good that he's annoyed with me."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"It shows that he cares and looks out for Frodo. If this Fellowship is going to work, we should all follow his example of dedication and loyalty." If they didn't have that, they would not last long.

"Hmm, you do have a point there," the dwarf admitted. They stayed silent as they waited for the last member of the Fellowship to arrive. But Gimli broke the silence again. "Lad, about that left arm of yours."

"What about it?" Sasuke asked him.

"How is that you can move it around like nothing is wrong with it when it should've been lopped off?"

"Why would I lop off a perfectly good arm?" That made no sense to him and he let it show on his face.

"A perfectly good arm?" repeated Gimli. "Lad, the only thing I can think of for you to have that arm covered in bandages is that it was burned by dragonfire!" When he said that, the question of how only his left arm was burned came to mind, but he put that down to how fast the lad could move.

Sasuke gave him a long stare before finally looking away. "My arm isn't this way because it was burned; it's this way because the power it held was sealed." He left it at that, walking away so the dwarf couldn't ask any more question.

Aragorn soon arrived after that and all the Fellowship was there. Now, they made their way to the gate of Rivendell, where a small ceremony would take place. Lord Elrond and a delegation of elves were already waiting for them, letting them gather at the gate in silence. Once they were there, Elrond stepped forward. "The Ringbearer is setting out on the quest of Mount Doom," he began. "And you who travel with him, no oath nor bond is laid to go further than you will."

"_Maybe not for them,"_ Sasuke thought to himself, looking subtly at the rest of the Fellowship. He was quite the different matter.

"Farewell," the Lord of Rivendell told them. "Hold to your purpose and may the blessings of elves, and men, and all free folk go with you."

"The Fellowship awaits the Ringbearer," Gandalf declared solemnly from where he stood. Frodo, who had stood before Elrond in front of the Fellowship, turned and walked toward the gate, taking the lead. The Wizard amongst them followed him and so did the rest of the Fellowship. Both Sasuke and Aragorn took the rear and followed everyone else, although Aragorn looked one last time at Arwen before leaving.

* * *

The rest of the day (for they had left early in the morning) was spent traveling. They had a long way to go and their destination would not come to them. No one really said anything as they left Rivendell behind and that kept on as they made their way through the lands nearby. To Sasuke's surprise, the hobbits didn't complain about how bored they were or how tired. They kept walking while Sam led the pack pony they had brought with them.

By the time the sun had begun to set, they were well deep in the forest. They had found a clearing large enough to suit their needs and wasted no time in making camp. Once the fire was going, Boromir stood up and had the hobbits stand as well. "Take out your swords," he told them as he stepped away from the fire so that they could have more room.

The four hobbits did as they were told and Boromir began instructing them in how to use their swords. While they practiced, the rest sat in silence. Those who had pipes had them out, puffing out smoke from their mouths. "Do you want one, lad?" Gimli asked Sasuke after taking a puff. "I've got a spare." He pulled out said spare for him to see.

"I don't smoke," he answered shortly, waving it away. He knew enough Katon jutsus to set a large forest ablaze; he didn't need smoke added to it. Instead, he kept his focus on the food cooking on the fire. He had been reading the book but when Sam started practicing, he kept watch over the food.

"Keep your guard up, Sam!" Aragorn called out to the hobbit that was currently practicing with Boromir. He must've heard the man because he instantly kept his guard up. Boromir went down when the guard went up and he had Sam pinned in only two moves.

"You have to be able to react quickly," the man from Gondor told the hobbit after withdrawing his sword.

"I understand, Mister Boromir," Sam said to him.

"Merry, your turn," he said to Merry, who moved to attack. The clearing ringed with the sounds of practice.

"I hope the hobbits will get better," Legolas said as he watched the practice continue.

"It is only the first day, Legolas," Gandalf told him reassuringly. "They will get better as we continue on this journey."

"It could be worse. They could be trained by an elf right now," Gimli remarked with a smirk on his lips.

That could've led to opening up the old feud again, but the elf in question just smiled. "Would it be any worse than being trained by a dwarf?" he asked in reply.

Before there could be any reply, Sasuke whipped his head away from the fire and stared off into the forest. "What is it?" Aragorn asked him, taking his pipe from his mouth.

"We're not alone out here," he said. "There's another camp that way." He gestured in the direction that he was looking at. Legolas did the same and saw the flicker of light through the trees.

"Perhaps they are travelers on the road like us?" Pippin suggested, having heard the conversation. Both Boromir and Merry had stopped their practice too and looked over at the fire. While everyone's gaze was at where Sasuke was looking, the wielders of both Glamdring and Sting noticed that their swords glowed blue.

"It's better to be safe than sorry." He stood up from where he had sat. "I'm going to go check it out."

"We will come with you," Gimli declared, standing up and grabbing his axe.

But he shook his head. "Aragorn and Legolas can come, the rest of you stay put." The man and elf stood up when they heard their names and grabbed their weapons.

"What? Why the elf and not me?" the dwarf demanded, a little angry at the rejection.

"I trust him to not make any noise when we investigate. You would make noise," Sasuke said shortly, walking into the forest with Aragorn and Legolas following him.

Their walk did not take them long to find the other camp. But while the said camp did have travelers, it was not the kind of travelers one would want to meet while on the road. No, this camp was full of orcs. As the three of them hid in the forest and look on at the camp, Legolas looked at Sasuke. "It is quite fortunate that you spotted them, Crabandir."

"Luck and I do not really know each other," he said shortly. _"It does, however, know Naruto very well."_ He did not want to count the number of times that blonde had gotten lucky with something.

"Still your tongues, they are speaking," Aragorn told the two of them. The two fell silent and listened to what the orcs had to say.

"How long are we going to be out here?" one of the orcs demanded as he ripped a chunk of meat off the bone he was holding.

"We're out here until our Master commands otherwise, maggot," the biggest orc there told him with a snarl in his voice. "Ask a stupid question like that again and I'll rip your guts out."

The first orc spat at the fire in response. "Like you actually could do that," he said.

A bone flew through the air and struck him in the head, knocking him out. "Anyone want to question what our orders are?" The biggest orc demanded, looking around the camp. None of the remaining orcs dared to even look him in the eye. "I thought not." He eyed the unconscious orc. "One of you lot wake his ass up," he ordered. "If he doesn't wake, eat him."

Sasuke had a small look of disgust at those words. "They would eat one of their own?" he asked quietly. In hindsight, he really shouldn't have been surprised by that.

"Orcs can and will do far worse than that," Aragorn assured him as they watched another of the orcs walk over to the unconscious one and kicked his body hard a few times.

The unconscious orc came too and responded to the kick by drawing a knife and plunging it into the kicking orc's thigh, making him hiss in pain. "That's for kicking me," the now conscious orc said.

It looked the two of them were about to fight, only for the big orc to get their attention with a loud, "Oi!" They looked over at him. "If you want to kill each other, do it on your own time, not when the Master wants us to do a good job."

"What's the job, anyway?" another orc demanded. "It's not one of those 'napping kids missions, is it?"

"What did you think we're out here for? Of course we're taking kids!"

"We're going to be dead once we take those runts! Blood Eyes will hunt us down and kill us!"

"There's no such thing! Now shut up before I tear your head off!" That threat made any other orc that wanted to say something stop and go back to their meal.

Legolas and Aragorn turned away from the fire and looked at one another. "We cannot let them go through with this," the elf between the two of them declared.

"I agree. We should head back to the rest of the Fellowship and get their aide," Aragorn said. But before they could do something, they noticed that Sasuke was not with them.

In fact, the young man had already walked out of the forest and into the clearing of orcs, getting their attention. "Who the fuck are you?" the big orc demanded. Sasuke didn't say anything. He was too busy mentally counting the number of orcs there.

"_Hmm, about thirty,"_ he thought to himself once he was done with the count.

"I asked you a question, you filthy maggot!"

"No one of consequence," he finally answered the big orc.

That just made the orc grin nastily. "Then you won't mind if we make use of you." He looked at one of the orcs. "Kill him! We're going to have man-flesh once we're done with him!"

The orc he ordered stood up from where he was crouching and grabbed an ugly-looking axe. He charged straight at the man, who only stood there and did nothing. Both Aragorn and Legolas had their bows out with arrows nocked and trying to get a good aim on the orc. But when they did, he was finally upon Sasuke, his axe raised high.

It was in that moment did the man, taking one step to the side when the axe swung down and missed him completely. In the second it took for him to step to the side, he had drawn his sword out from his coat and beheaded the orc in one clean stroke. Silence reigned in the clearing as the body of the now dead orc crashed to the ground.

"What the fuck!?" one of the orcs cried out.

"How did he do that?" another demanded, unaware that he was sharing a thought with a nearby elf and man.

"Who cares?" the big orc rhetorically asked before shoving another orc at the man, who was just standing there with an open blade. "Kill him!"

All the orcs there took that as the order it was. They all charged at the man with weapons at the ready, coming with the intent to kill. But they never would've been able to realize that intent, because the man met their charge and attacked them.

His sword either met the weapons wielded by the orcs, preventing them from striking him, or cutting through the shafts, making the weapon completely useless (for those who were wielding axes or spears). Once he had made the weapon useless, he also killed the orc holding it. While all this happened, he kept moving and kept his eyes opened.

His tactics were working, as the big orc was getting frustrated. "What the hell's matter with you lot?" he demanded of the orcs he commanded. "It's just one man! This should be an easy meal for you lot!"

"We can't hit him!" one of the orcs who was actually fighting told him. "He just keeps moving around!"

"Wait!" another orc said. "Look at his eyes." He was stabbed through the heart barely a second after he said those words

But the other orcs had heard him and they looked closely at the man they were trying to kill, staring at his eyes every time they swung at him. They soon realized what the dead orc had meant. "It's Blood Eyes!" an orc cried out in fear when he saw those eyes.

"There's no such person!" the big orc roared at them. "Kill him already!"

Despite his continued orders to do so, the attacking orcs were more likely to end dead then successfully kill the man. They seemed to die with each swing of the man's sword now. They were dying in rapid succession and the ones that remained were more hesitant to actually try and attack him.

But they still attack and they were killed all the same. What was truly frightening for them was not the man's eyes (which was where their little nickname had originated from), but the fact that the man's face had no expression at all. It was completely emotionless and revealed nothing. While orcs were not the brightest creatures around (unless bred specifically for that), they knew that there should always be an expression on a person's face when they were fighting.

But this one did not and they were killed all the same. When the last attacking orc fell to the earth dead, the man the orcs knew as Blood Eyes stood in the middle of twenty nine orc corpses. "That's impossible!" the big orc kept saying as he looked at all those who used to be under his command lay dead on the ground. "There's no such person as Blood Eyes. He's a myth. That's all he is, a myth."

"Can a myth do this?" Sasuke asked him, pulling out a kunai and throwing it at the big orc in the space of a second. It buried itself in his forehead, which bled hard as he fell dead to the ground.

Both Aragorn and Legolas came out of the forest with impressed looks on their faces (Legolas less so then Aragorn). But they both stopped when Sasuke looked at them and they saw his eyes. "By the Valar, what has happened to your eyes?" Aragorn asked him.

Sasuke knew what they were seeing, blood-red eyes with three black tomoe encircling the pupil. "They are a gift that has been passed down through my bloodline," he answered shortly, deactivating them. It was enough of an explanation for the moment, but he had a feeling that one of them would press the issue once they got back to their own camp.

He wasn't disappointed. As soon as they got back to camp, Aragorn and Legolas filled the rest of the Fellowship in on what he did. While Gandalf, Gimli, and Legolas seemed to have knowing looks in their eyes (he wasn't sure how the elf knew), the men and hobbits just had questioning looks. "How is it that you have such a power?" Boromir asked him.

"It's not uncommon to have such a thing in my land," he answered. He knew that if he didn't explain at least some of it, they would either not let it drop or not trust him. "Many clans have what is called a Kekkei Genkai, an ability that only members of the clan can use. For the Uchiha clan, our Kekkei Genkai is called the **Sharingan**." He activated them so the rest of the Fellowship could see them.

As they gazed upon the transformed eyes, those who had seen them before felt a little unsettled by them (those who had were less so). "So…um…" Pippin tried to say, trying to avoid looking directly at the eyes (which he wasn't doing a good job of). "Do they do anything else, besides look menacing?"

Sasuke stared at him for a long moment, letting him see both of the eyes. "They allow me to anticipate and analyze the motions of my opponent, picking up on the subtle things about a person."

"Like what?"

"For instance, it would allow me to read lips when I cannot hear the person actually speaking, thus allowing me to know what he was saying. It would also allow me to pick up the small things that would tell me a person is lying."

The hobbit made an impressed sound in the back of his throat. "That would be a useful thing to have on Market Day, especially for the ones who try to cheat you."

Sam looked horrified at that thought. "They don't do that!" he protested.

"They don't do it to you, Sam," Merry clarified for him. "The farmers all love you. It's us they don't like."

"I wonder why that is," Gandalf remarked, looking at Merry and Pippin. "Would the reason be that on one Market Day, the two of you took a wheelbarrow and tried to either con the farmers into giving you their mushrooms for free or just outright stealing them?"

The two hobbits couldn't even look at the Wizard when he asked them that question. On the other hand, when Frodo heard the question and saw their reaction, he looked at them. "That was you two?" he asked them.

"I believe that we are getting off topic," Boromir said, looking at the man called Crabandir. "When you said anticipate, what did you mean by that?"

He stood up from where he sat and gesture for the man from Gondor to do the same. "Draw your sword and attack me," he told Boromir once they had a little distance away from the fire. The Captain-General did as he was asked and begun his attack. "Stop," Sasuke told him when his sword-bearing arm was above his head. "With my **Sharingan**, I would've seen you in this position when you would've begun to attack; giving me enough time to counter and rendered it ineffective."

"Such a thing would be useful when one is fighting against only one," his faux-opponent conceded. "But surely it would not work in a battle where you have multiple enemies attacking you."

He only smirked at that. "When I watch you make your move, time slows down for me, letting me see each attack." The only time that had been used against was when he tried to capture Killer Bee, but he wasn't going to tell them that. He was also not sure if it would be the same outcome if the two fought again (but that wasn't a big question, because he knew it would not happen).

"That is a most impressive weapon," Gimli declared. He had heard his father speak of Madara's abilities in battle but that was all. Glóin never explained how it was like that. Now, his son suspected that he didn't get this explanation during the Company's journey.

"That's not all the **Sharingan** can do," Sasuke told him. It was better for them to know then ask questions later.

"What else is there?" Sam asked, curious to know.

"Boromir, attack me again," he told the man from Gondor, drawing his own sword.

They exchanged blows, filling the clearing with the sound metal clashing against metal again. But unlike when Boromir was practicing with the hobbits, the sounds came faster and harder. Yet, despite his efforts, Boromir could not get past Sasuke's guard. His eyes that almost seemed to glow red away from the light of the fire stayed focused on him. They never wavered and he found that he could not look away.

At some point during the spar, the Captain-General saw that the moves Sasuke was using looked familiar, _very_ familiar. It came to him when he saw his opponent twisted his sword in such a way that only someone familiar with the style could do it. "When did you learn how to fight like one of the Tower Guard?" he asked when their blades were locked together.

"I didn't," Sasuke answered, breaking the lock and stepping back. "I was copying you. What the **Sharingan** is most famous for is that when the wielder uses it to copy any skill or technique they see. I began fighting like a Tower Guard because you were fighting like one and I saw your movements," he explained to them all, sheathing his sword and going back to the fire.

"Isn't that thieving?" Legolas asked him.

"Aye, it is," he admitted. "That was one of the many reasons why enemy shinobi treaded lightly with facing an Uchiha, lest their own skillset be used against them."

"And yet, no weapon is without its weak points, I'm sure," Gandalf said with a knowing smile.

The raven-haired man cast a look at the Grey Wizard. _"How much does he actually know?"_ he asked himself. "I wouldn't say weak point, more like drawback. The **Sharingan** can't copy another Kekkei Genkai. And even if one copies a technique, they need the ability to use it. If I used it to copy how a strong man might carry away a fallen tree, I would still need the strength to pick up and carry the tree."

"But don't you have a lot of people calling your family thieves and whatnot?" Sam asked. He knew he would if that happened to him.

Sasuke stayed quiet for a moment before finally speaking. "…In the Shinobi world, you must and will take any and all opportunities to survive. It only takes one mistake to end up dead, even more so there." A small smile that seemed bittersweet appeared on his face. "As for being called thieves, people were more inclined to look at my clan with fear and respect then accuse us of that. We were a powerful clan, once."

"Once?" repeated Pippin. "You mean something changed?"

"Yes, something changed. And because of that change, I am now the last Uchiha." Some days, he wondered if it was better to let it stay like that.

The hobbit looked like he was going to ask another question when Frodo stopped him. "Pippin, if he does not wish to tell us what happened; it is not our place to ask him. He was already generous enough to explain how his eyes work."

"Thank you, Frodo," he said to the hobbit, giving him a look of gratitude. He was a little surprise to hear someone say that, for he assumed that they would never stop asking the questions. The attention was then directed from to the food on the fire. Everyone took some and tucked in. No more questions were asked that night.

* * *

The following day their journey began again and continued for many days. As they traveled, they went to higher and higher heights. As they went higher, the land around them slowly turned from heavily wooded forests to flatland with bushes and then to high hills with large clusters of rocks. They even went passed a ruin or two in their journey.

They all knew what the plan was. They were to stick close to the west side of the Misty Mountains while traveling south. Once they reached the Gap of Rohan, they would swing east through it and head straight for Mordor. It sounded a little simple for a plan to Sasuke, but he also realized it was like that so it could change at any moment. The Gap of Rohan did bring them close to Isengard and since Saruman had gone over to the side of Sauron, things might become complicated once they got there.

But that wasn't an immediate problem for the Fellowship, as they had yet to even reach the Gap. They were still traveling south at the beginnings of the Misty Mountains. But that came to an abrupt end one day. They stopped to take a break around a large cluster of rocks and decided to have lunch. While Sam cooked, Boromir practiced with Merry and Pippin. Both Aragorn and Frodo watched from where they sat.

"Move your feet," Aragorn told Pippin, who was currently the one blocking Boromir's sword strikes. They came faster, but the hobbit was able to block them.

"That's good, Pippin," Merry complemented his friend, standing beside him with his sword in hand.

"Thanks," Pippin said in reply.

"Faster!" Boromir told them, turning his blade onto Merry. The hobbit was a little surprised and so, his blocks were awkward to begin with. But that disappeared quickly enough.

While they trained, both Legolas and Sasuke kept watch on different ends of the makeshift camp. Gandalf sat on a rock with a pipe in hand. "If anyone was to ask my opinion, which I note they are not, I'd say we were taking the long way," Gimli declared after looking at the path they were to travel. He turned around to look at the Wizard in the Fellowship. "Gandalf, we could pass through the Mines of Moria. My cousin Balin would give us a royal welcome."

Gandalf knew what the dwarf was talking about. Forty-eight years after the Lonely Mountain had been retaken and Thorin had fallen in the Battle of the Five Armies, Balin had taken a small number of dwarves, including Ori and Gimli's own uncle, Óin, to retake Moria. There had been news of some success, but that was all and he felt fearful of what would happen in that ancient kingdom, having gone to Saruman when he was still an ally. The White Wizard agreed with his fears and the Grey Wizard could still see him looking upon a book, his words floating in the air.

"_The dwarves delved too greedily and too deep. You know what they awoke in the darkness of Khazad-dûm: shadow and flame."_

"No, Gimli," he finally said. "I would not take the road to Moria unless I had no other choice." Gimli was disappointed, but only a little. He could understand the Wizard's unease about the suggestion. Meanwhile, Legolas movedto another spot in the camp to look that way, and he noticed something.

A sharp cry of pain filled the air as Boromir accidently struck Pippin's hand rather than his sword. But when he tried to check it, the hobbit kicked him in the leg. "Get him!" Merry cried as he and Pippin knocked him to the ground.

"For the Shire!" shouted Pippin as the two of them wrestled to keep their much larger opponent down. "Hold him, hold him down, Merry!" It wasn't a serious match as Boromir couldn't help but laugh when he fought them off.

Sasuke saw the so-called "fight" from where he was standing. _"They're acting like kids,"_ he thought to himself with a roll of his eyes. But he found it amusing too. It kinda reminded him of the days at the Academy. Things seemed much simpler then.

After watching the match, Aragorn decided to intervene. "Gentleman, that's enough," he declared, standing up and reaching for the hobbits. That only got him thrown to the ground when Merry and Pippin grabbed his legs and upended him.

Sasuke just watched in silence as he got back onto his feet and helped Boromir get the hobbits off of him. But when he turned his head, he saw Legolas and in turn, what the elf was seeing. _"What the hell?"_ He quickly went over to the elf's side to get a closer look, activating his **Sharingan** as he walked.

Sam saw him move, turned to see where he was going, and saw the same thing. "What is that?" he asked.

Gimli had seen it as well but was more dismissive of it. "Nothing, it's just a whisp of cloud," he declared.

"That 'whisp of cloud' is getting bigger and darker, Gimli," Sasuke told him.

Everyone else had now seen what was coming. "It's moving fast, against the wind," Boromir said with growing realization as he stood up again.

It only took Legolas a few more seconds to see what it was. "Crebain from Dunland!" he shouted for all to hear.

"_Shit!"_ Sasuke swore, already moving and deactivating his **Sharingan**. He had been in Dunland more times than once in his travels and he had seen those birds before. They had good eyes and from what reports he had read before they left Rivendell, Saruman had managed to get them to obey him.

"Hide!" Aragorn shouted for all to hear. "Frodo, Sam, take cover!" he called up to the two hobbits above as he grabbed his sword and ran for cover.

"Hurry!" urged Boromir as he too ran. All around the makeshift camp, the Fellowship were grabbing their things and then running for cover (Sam also took the time to rapidly pour water on the fire, extinguishing it). They had only barely made it to cover when the Crebain descended.

They all kept down and out of sight as the flock of black birds came screeching through the area. To Sasuke, who was crouching down against a curved rock, the noise reminded me of the sound the **Chidori** made. _"So that's what it sounds like on the receiving end,"_ he thought to himself. It was truly an intimidating sound, but it just made him applicate the fact that he knew how to use it.

For a minute, the flock hovered over the area before moving on. No one moved until they were sure that the Crebain were flying away. Once that was certain, they came back out into the open. "Spies of Saruman," Gandalf declared as he came out from behind the rock he was hiding behind. "The passage south is being watch." He looked at the rest of the Fellowship. "We must take the Pass of Caradhras," he told them.

Everyone looked up at the snow-capped mountains that stood in the distance. It was most likely going to be a dangerous route, more dangerous than the one they were originally taking. But they had no choice now.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

Does it actually say in the books where the hobbits started learning from the books? Because I know they didn't cover that in the movies. That's why Boromir agreed to train them.

I know I said I was going to be drawing from the movies and not the books. I will amend that by stating that I will draw _some_ from the books, case in point, Sting and Glamdring. In the movies, only Sting glowed while in the books, it was both. Quite frankly, I think the books make a better answer. They both came from the same Age, why wouldn't they both glow?

Sasuke was going to have to explain his eyes sooner or later. But if you've noticed, he didn't give a complete explanation. There's more to come for the rest of the Fellowship.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	4. Up in the air, down in the rock

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 4: Up in the air, down in the rock

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: the Fellowship)

They had been climbing the mountain for two weeks now. They didn't reach any snow until the end of the first week. When they did, there was nothing but snow. On a good day, the snow would be only an inch or so thick and therefore would be easily walked over. But as they climbed, the good days soon became distant and the snow around them got larger and larger. What was worse was when the sun was shining brightly down on them, making the snow reflect the light.

"_If I had known I was going to be making my way through this kind of snow in this much light ten years ago, I would've brought sunglasses,"_ Sasuke grumbled silently as he climbed up the trail Gandalf had made from the front. Sure, he hadn't been afraid to climb some mountains since coming to Middle-Earth (for that was where the orc bands had usually tried to escape to) but never one this high.

A grunt of surprise and the sound of someone falling downhill made him turn around to see what was going on. Frodo had slipped on a small clump of snow and rolling down the trail. "Frodo!" said Aragorn as he caught the hobbit and got him back on his feet.

Frodo quickly wiped off the snow but noticed that the Ring was missing from around his neck. He saw that it, and the chain he carried it on, had fallen onto the snow beneath them. It was picked up by Boromir, who then held it in the air by the chain. "Boromir," Aragorn called out to him. The rest of the Fellowship had now turned to see what was happening.

"It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing," the man from Gondor said as he stared at the Ring. "Such a little thing…" He reached up to touch it, but a hand grasped his arm firmly and for a moment, he felt something directed at him. Once that moment was gone, he realized what he was doing and looked at the Ring with a small measure of horror (but also lust).

"Boromir," Sasuke said from his side, for it was his hand holding back the arm. "Give the Ring back to Frodo." He released the grip he had and stepped back.

Boromir hesitated for a moment, making Aragorn slowly reach for his sword. "As you wish, Sasuke," the Captain-General said. "I care not." He made his way slowly down to Frodo and offered the Ring, which the hobbit quickly took. He grinned at both Frodo and Aragorn, but when they didn't return it he laughed a short laugh and ruffled Frodo's hair before turning around.

"Could we get a move on?" Gimli asked the rest of the Fellowship. "Let's find a place to rest for the evening so we are not out in the freezing cold like the last three nights."

"Indeed, let us continue," Gandalf agreed, turning back to forge the path ahead.

The rest of the Fellowship followed after the Wizard. "I am sure that we will find a nice cave to rest our weary feet in, Master Dwarf," Legolas said to Gimli, looking back at him while they climbed.

"Well, if we happen to find a forest up here, I will be sure to let you know, Master Elf," he replied, matching the smile on the elf's face. "But I cannot guarantee that it will be green and full of life. Rather, I think it will ice-blue and frozen too."

"Gimli, you've just described my feet," Pippin told the dwarf. "And I think that if you keep talking about it, they'll come right off."

"Peregrin Took, your feet won't come off," Gandalf said aloud without looking back at him. "However, if you don't keep moving, I will help them come off. So please, keep moving."

"I am moving I am moving!" the hobbit moved quickly up the trail, going past the other two hobbits near him.

"Pippin, you almost scared Bill!" Sam chided him while also placing a reassuring hand on the pack pony.

"Sorry, Bill!" he called out to the pony, who seemed to nicker in response.

(Location: Isengard)

Saruman stood in the depth of the factory he had created in the grounds of Isengard. All around him, the orcs under his command worked and toiled, creating weapons and armor, digging out his new creations and seeing that they were ready. The factory rang with all the sounds of hammer, tongs, swords, shields, armor, and fire.

Amidst these sounds, the cawing of Crebain joined. The birds themselves flew into the factory as a flock, flapping through the numerous and voluminous openings that stretched from the cracked openings in the soil over their heads to the deepest levels beneath them. When they saw where the White Wizard stood, they flew to him and began telling him their message.

Having learned the language of birds long ago, he knew what they were saying with ease. When they had finished telling their tale, they flew away through the factory. "So Gandalf, you try to lead them over Caradhras," he mused to himself as he walked away from the ledge where he had stood. Any orcs that were nearby paid no attention to him, for he did not call out to any of them. "And if that fails, where then will you go? If the mountain defeats you, will you risk a more dangerous road?"

He walked out of the factory built into the earth of Isengard and back into the tower. "Ah, but I forget, Gandalf. You would not take that road unless you were forced. So, I shall force you."

(Location: the Fellowship)

Three days had passed since the small incident with Boromir, who was now doing his best to keep his distance. But that was impossible now. A sudden storm had struck on the third while they were traveling with a cliff to one sides and the open air on the other, making the snow reach the waists of the tall people in the Fellowship easily. The short people weren't so fortunate. While Gimli could handle himself, the hobbits had to be carried by Aragorn and Boromir.

"How much farther can we go to find safety?" Boromir called out to Gandalf while carrying Merry and Pippin. "I fear for the hobbits!"

"I cannot safely say!" the Grey Wizard told him from the front, making a path through the snow with his staff. "This storm and winds clouds my sight!"

"Do you want me to scout ahead?" Sasuke asked him. While Legolas was nimble enough to walk on the top of the snow, he did the same by applying chakra to his feet. He kept pace with the front of the path so he could help in any way he could.

But he only shook his head. "No, do not do that. I fear that if you do, you won't be able to find us again!"

The raven-haired man snorted at those words. "I think I'll be able to find my way back. You forget what I wield." The snowstorm had nothing on his **Sharingan**. He would be able to see fine.

"Even so, please stay. It's best that we keep together."

"Fine," he said. Perhaps the Wizard was right. He might be able to see through the snow, but he did not know this mountain. That alone could get him lost.

They continued to forge a path through the snow with the wind howling through them. Time seemed to slow down as they went forward, for it was only Gandalf who was forging the trail and with only his staff. At times, Sasuke wondered if he should help by using Katon jutsus to melt the snow. But then he reminded himself that in this cold of weather, the snow that melted would turn to ice in a short amount of time.

As they made their way, Legolas heard something faint. He moved forward to hear it better, which got the attention of Sasuke. "What is it?" he asked the elf.

He didn't answer straight away. Instead he listened to the wind. The wind carried that something to his ears. It turned out to be a voice, chanting words in Quenya, one of the most ancient languages in the world. But the voice chanting the words sounded wrong to him. "There's a fell voice in the air," he told the Fellowship.

Gandalf listened to the wind and heard the voice as well. And he knew that voice. "It's Saruman!" he shouted in alarm. At that moment, large boulder-size chunks of snow-encrusted stone broke free of the cliff above them. They fell down to the path, making the Fellowship put their backs against the stone to protect themselves.

They were successful, as the chunks struck the snow pushed to the side and then fell down even further. But the danger was still there. "He's trying to bring down the mountain!" Aragorn shouted over the storm. "Gandalf, we must turn back!"

"No!" The Wizard climbed out of the path and onto a nearby clump of hard snow. He began chanting in Quenya too, turning it into a duel of words between him and Saruman. Everyone else could watch in silence as the duel raged on. If it had been any other time, they would've found the words that came from Gandalf's lips to sound beautiful.

He wasn't sure how the duel was going for either side, but Sasuke still had his eyes and the **Sharingan** was blazing. Past the wind and the snow, he could see the small flashes of light in the clouds. Whether this was some part of the duel or not, he didn't know and he didn't care. He saw an opportunity to end it.

"Old man!" he called out to the Wizard. He didn't seem to hear him, so he tried something else. "Gandalf, get clear!"

This time, the Grey Wizard did hear him and though he looked at Crabandir with some surprise, he did as he was told. The raven-haired shinobi took the clump and raised his bandaged hand into the air. He channeled his chakra through it and it manifested as lightening engulfing his palm, stunning most of the Fellowship.

Directing his hand skyward, he discharged his chakra and sent it flying towards the clouds. Once it was there, he could feel the energy inside the clouds and the person trying to harness it. _"Not this time,"_ he silently declared. He caught the person off guard and took control of the storm.

Lightning began to dance amidst the clouds, flowing to a central point. Once there was enough, a shape began to form. It took the shape that the rest of the Fellowship did not know of, a shape of a worm-like creature with whiskers and red eyes. It opened its mouth and roared before disappearing back into the clouds.

In the moment of silence that followed, with all eyes on him and the cloud, Sasuke spoke in his native language. "Be gone with the thunderclap!" he roared into the wind, lowering his hand and directing the jutsu at the original harnesser.

The clouds boomed with thunder and lightning shot through the storm clouds, back to its point of origin. But because of all the noise from the roar and thunder, more of the mountain, mostly snow from the tip above, broke off and fell towards them. "Look out!" Aragorn shouted out, throwing himself back against the stone. The others did the same and Sasuke leapt from the clump.

He landed back on the path just in time as the path was almost immediately buried in more snow (what rocks that fell went straight down). After the snow had stopped falling, they began digging themselves out with desperate hands formed into claws. _"Kami take it, Sasuke, you overdid it,"_ the raven-haired shinobi thought to himself as he got free. The first thing he saw was Bill. The pack pony's head was free of the snow as well as its back. Everything else was buried.

"We must get off the mountain!" Boromir shouted at Gandalf over the wind and snow. "Make for the Gap of Rohan and take the west road to my city!"

"The Gap of Rohan takes us too close to Isengard!" Aragorn reminded him. It would be like walking into a trap now.

"We cannot pass over the mountain, let us go under it!" Gimli declared. "Let us go through the Mines of Moria!"

The Grey Wizard went still when he heard that. Saruman's words echoed in his head.

"_You know what they awoke in the darkness of Khazad-dûm: shadow and flame."_

"Let the Ringbearer decide," he finally announced.

Frodo looked surprised to hear that. To be frank, neither did the rest of the Fellowship. They had all looked to the Wizard among them for leadership. But as the hobbit in question stayed silent, they looked back to Gandalf. "We cannot stay here!" Boromir told him. "This will be the death of the hobbits!"

Sasuke looked at the four hobbits and saw the truth in those words. They looked half-frozen in the snow. But that did not sway Gandalf. "Frodo," he said to the hobbit.

The Ringbearer was still hesitating, not sure of what to say. But when he noticed that all eyes were still on him, he made his choice. "We will go through the Mines."

"So be it."

(Location: Isengard)

Saruman strode into his study, angry and annoyed. He was annoyed for not ensuring that the so-called "Fellowship" would fail to pass through Caradhras and angry for having his lightning taken and redirected back at himself. It was only due to his preparation of a spell of shielding that the lightning bolt that struck did not destroy him or the tower.

But never, in all his years in Middle-Earth, did someone try to strike him with his own attack! It made him furious; there was no other way to put it. If he was a lesser being, he would've started destroying the study in a rage. But he was not a lesser being and he would control his anger. It was better to use it as fuel to further his designs rather than waste it.

He stalked over to his chair and sat down in it. Nearby on the table was his pipe, as black as his staff. He grabbed it and lit, taking a puff. When he had first learned of pipe-weed from Gandalf, he had mocked and insulted the Grey Wizard for it. But it was only six decades later that he took up the habit himself and he could admit that he found it pleasant.

It also helped him think. He had seen a glimpse of the one who wrested control of the lightning from him. What stood out the most of this person were his eyes, blazing blood red. He had only seen those once before, sixty years ago. It had been that infernal company of dwarves came to Rivendell, along with the hobbit that soon carried the One Ring.

But it wasn't the hobbit or the dwarves that had his interest. It was the man who had followed them, the one who seemed to observe rather than speak. After they had left (while the White Council had still been in session), he had heard of what that man had done, having brought the dragon Smaug to the ground and ripping his wings off. But he was more curious about how the man had done it.

He kept asking and searching, but only found rumors. One such rumor was that the man had been a Maia and taken a giant form (which Saruman found ridiculous). Another rumor was the man had called out for the Valar for help and the Valar answered him by giving him the strength to fight the dragon (which he found even more ridiculous, the Valar wouldn't lift a finger to help a Man or anyone else. They would rather watch in silence as the world around them fell to nothing). A variation of the second rumor was that he had called on the Valar from his own land to do battle with the dragon. Despite all the different rumors, they all agreed on three things: when the man fought the dragon, he took the larger shape of a man fully armored, the color of this larger man was purple, and was made of fire.

Such was Saruman's curiosity that, when the man left for his own land, the White Wizard sent men after him. They made it to the land and began sending reports back to their master. He found the lands were called the Elemental Nations and seemed to be in a constant state of semi-war. The people seemed to embrace the savageness of their inner nature and yet, they wielded powers that made him jealous and envious. He had sent orders to see if they could capture one of the warriors called "shinobi" and if so, bring them back to him. Alas, that proved to be an impossible task. Even the clumsiest of shinobi were able to spot his men and either evade them or kill them.

But now, there was one such shinobi here in Middle-Earth. More than that, it appeared that this one was a descendent of the man that traveled with the company of dwarves. And if he carried the same power his ancestor had…? What Saruman could breed into his new creations with those eyes! He placed down his pipe, his mind decided. He will have those eyes.

(Location: the Fellowship)

Since they had admitted defeat on Caradhras and decided to go through the Mines of Moria, they had to turn back. And since the snow had fallen on them, they had to remake the path. Ironically enough, once they had freed Bill, the pack pony proved to be just as able to forge path as well as Gandalf.

They were also lucky to find out that their path wasn't completely ruined. A day or so since they turned back, they found the remnants of their path. There had been some snow on top of it, but it wasn't enough to cause a problem. Instead, they were able to stomp it down quick enough to walk through it.

When they began to actually make their way down the mountain, another storm hit them. It was not as serious or hard as the one Saruman had conjured, but still one worthy enough to be weary of. But Gimli had found a cave big enough to hold them comfortably (if not a little tightly) until the weather.

They had enough wood on Bill's pack to make a fire so they kept warm inside the cave. An interesting thing about the cave was that the sides and roof were covered in snow that had a thin layer of ice coating the surface. The light from the fire shone different shades on the lights, giving the Fellowship a bit of show. "I can see why the dwarves like to live beneath the mountains if they can see this every day," Legolas admitted to Gimli.

"If you are impressed by this, Master Elf, then what lays deeper in our mountains will astound you," the dwarf told him. "Veins of metal that run through the stone like great currents of streams and rivers, caverns where clumps and clusters of jewels shine and sparkle when light is cast upon them, and the sound of water coursing through the stone and rock only to fall into an abyss is what lies beneath the surface of our mountains."

"Hearing this talk about of your home reminds me of the Shire," Sam said Gimli. "I hope that I will be able to see its green hills and flowing streams again." He could picture it now and if he closed his eyes, he could feel the warm sun on his face.

"We all feel the same way about our homes, young Samwise," Gandalf told him with a general agreement from the rest of the Fellowship.

The only person who held his silence was Sasuke and the others noticed. "What?" he asked when he saw that their eyes were on him.

"Don't you miss your home?" Pippin asked him.

"I lost the right to call Konoha my home."

"Why? What did you do?"

"Drop it, Pippin," he told the hobbit sharply.

All he did was make the Took confused. "Drop what? I'm not holding anything to drop."

While he stifled the urge to shake his head and rolled his eyes, Gandalf stepped in. "He is telling you to let it go, Peregrin Took. What he has to say about his home is for him to say. So don't bother him."

Pippin didn't say anything, so Boromir took the chance to do so. "I've been meaning to thank you, Sasuke, for stopping me that day," he said to the man known as Crabandir. Frodo and Aragorn began to feel uneasy when they heard those words.

"There's no need to thank me," Sasuke answered.

"Still, I must thank you." The man from Gondor looked just as uncomfortable as Frodo and Aragorn. "I would like to think that I am a good man who wants peace–"

"That's where you're wrong," the raven-haired man interrupted him. "You are not a good man."

That certainly surprised him, as he could only respond with, "What?"

"Mr. Sasuke, I think that Mr. Boromir is a very good man," Sam declared, coming to Boromir's defense.

"Aye, I'll stand by that," Gimli agreed.

"As will I," Legolas said.

"Same here," Merry spoke out.

"I think so too," Pippin announced.

The Captain-General looked grateful for the support he received (although he cast an uncertain look on Aragorn and Frodo when they didn't say anything). But Sasuke only frowned. "You're not listening to what I'm not saying," he told them. "None of you are good men and you won't find peace like that."

"Lad, I should warn, I can and will take offense at such words," Gimli said, his voice rumbling with a growl. While they didn't say it, the rest of the Fellowship (minus the Grey Wizard) showed on their faces that they agreed with the dwarf.

"Sasuke, perhaps you could say what you're not saying?" Gandalf suggested with a small smile on his lips and what looked like a twinkle in his eyes.

"_These people would not have made it as shinobi,"_ he thought to himself as he mentally rolled his eyes. "None, none of you are good men but neither are any of you evil men."

The looks they had on their faces were replaced by with looks of confusion. "How could we not be good men and not be evil men?" Frodo asked.

"_Okay then, baby steps."_ He stood up from where he was sitting and walked over to the nearby wall, pulling out a kunai as he walked. When he reached the wall and stood before the snow, he swiftly punched it, breaking the ice. Using all parts of the kunai, he began to carve something into the snow.

His body blocked what he was carving so the Fellowship could not see what he was doing. When he was done and he stepped away, they examined what he created and were confused by it. "What is this symbol you have created, Crabandir?" Legolas asked him while still examining the symbol.

The basic shape was that of a circle with a line through the center that curved slightly, separating the two parts of the circle. On one side of the circle, he had dug the snow out deep, so deep that in the light of the fire it looked black. On the other side of the circle, the white snow was untouched. The only difference on the two sides was that they had a dot of the opposite color in them. The white dot was all that was left of the snow that was dug out and the black dot was the only part he dug out on the white side.

"This is the symbol of the yin-yang," he told them, moving to a different patch on the wall, breaking the ice there and began carving something there. "From what I've learned about Middle-Earth, you see good and evil like this." He stepped away from the carving, which was a simple line and the words "Good" and "Evil" on either side. "You see them as opposing forces that will clash again and again and have nothing to do with one another. This is where you are wrong."

"What do you mean by that?" Aragorn asked him.

"Good and evil are not opposing forces; they are compliments of each other. Without each other, they would not exist."

"That's not true," Sam protested. "If there was no evil, the world would be a happier place. There would be no struggles or problems anywhere."

"If there was no evil, then what is good, Sam? What is light without darkness? What is the day without the night?" he asked the hobbit, who had no answer. "Such things are defined by what is their opposite and it applies to everything that has or will existed, even these gods you call the Valar and the Dark Lord."

"I do not think Sauron would agree with your words if he had heard them, Crabandir," Legolas said to him.

"I wasn't talking about Sauron."

"But Sauron is the Dark Lord," Merry said to him. "Who else could you be talking about?"

"I've read the history of this part of the earth and I believe I know it well. Sauron is only the second Dark Lord. I speak of the first: Melkor."

When the name was spoken, the wind outside the cave seemed to sharpen and howl and the fire that warmed them dimmed slightly. The Fellowship all looked on quietly. "…It has been a long time since that name was uttered in these lands, when its name was Beleriand," Gandalf said, his voice quiet and solemn. "And yet, Morgoth was evil, for he wanted to destroy this world."

"Or perhaps he realized the truth of what I've spoken and chose to become evil. He chose his path so that the world might go on. He chose to lie to his kin and shouldered the burden alone."

"A burden?" repeated Legolas, sounding offended by his words. "You consider being a Dark Lord and attempting to destroy the world a burden?"

"Yes, I do," he answered. "It is a burden. A burden of being despised, hated, and cursed, a burden of everyone turning their backs or seeking to destroy you, a burden of being alone and forever being damned in the eyes of other people. Perhaps at some point, he did want to destroy or rule the world, but that is what Melkor carried on his shoulders. Someone must always carry the darkness, shoulder that hate, otherwise it would all be pointless."

"Do you really believe that?" Sam asked him. To the hobbit, all of it sounded a little weird (and if he was being honest, wrong).

"I do." He looked back at the circle. "The dots represents that there's a little part darkness in the light just as there is a little part of light in the darkness. To those who know this symbol, that means you can do an evil act for good and a good act for evil."

"Like what?" Pippin asked him. "How could one do a good act for evil?"

"I think the Oath of Fëanor would be one such act," he answered. He had read about the Oath and what had come because of it, like the three kin-slayings and the declaration that they had lost the right to what they were looking for. There was also what he had tried to do, but that wasn't the point he was trying to make. "What am I trying to tell you is that you are not good men and you are not evil men. You are simply men. There is light and darkness in each and every one of us."

"Then how are we to be men if there both of these in us?" Boromir asked him. "Are you saying that we simply need to choose which one we prefer to find our peace?"

He shook his head. "No, you just went back to the beginning again. The key to understanding and finding peace in both light and darkness is that you must find balance."

"…Balance?" Aragorn repeated after a moment of silence.

"Yes, balance. You must keep the light and the darkness in balance within yourself. By doing that, you will find peace," he told them. He wasn't really one to say all that, but they needed the lesson more than he did.

No one said a word after that. They just stayed silent and looked at the fire, thinking over his words.

* * *

The next few days were spent traveling down the mountain, almost out of the snow. And while they did not have to forge their path anymore, it was still cold enough for them to shiver. "Frodo, come and help an old man" Gandalf called out to the hobbit, who came over and placed himself beneath his arm. "How's your shoulder?"

"Better than it was," he answered honestly.

"And the Ring?" the Wizard asked him, making him pause and look up at the bigger person between the two of them. "You feel its power growing, don't you? I've felt it too. You must be careful now. Evil will be drawn to you from outside the Fellowship, and I fear from within."

Frodo could only cast a quick glance at Sasuke, who was passing by them. "Who then do I trust?" he asked Gandalf.

"You must trust yourself. Trust your own strength."

"What do you mean?"

"There are many powers in this world for good or for evil," he told the hobbit. "Some are greater than I am, and against some I have not yet been tested."

Gimli, who had been walking behind them, stopped and pointed at what lay before them. "The walls of Moria!" he said with reverence in his voice.

"_I will admit, that's impressive,"_ Sasuke admitted. It may have just been a side of the mountain, but what impressed him was the sheer size of it. He could see the ends of it if he turned his head to look. It was also deceptive, as the journey to them took longer than he had originally estimated. By the time they reached the walls, night had fallen.

"Dwarf doors are invisible when closed," Gimli told the Fellowship as they walked along the walls, tapping the stone with the back of his axe.

"Yes Gimli!" Gandalf agreed. "Their own masters cannot find them, if their secrets are forgotten!"

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Legolas asked aloud, making the dwarf in the Fellowship glare and grumble at his back.

As Sasuke looked on at the two, he could only shake his head. _"It seems that it wasn't enough that you gave me Naruto in the form of a Hobbit, Kami. You had to put him in a Dwarf and then me in an Elf as well."_ The way Gimli and Legolas bickered back and forth reminded Crabandir too much of the old days with Naruto. And if the past was any indicator, those two would become the best of friends.

A splash rang out amongst them as Frodo had slipped and landed his foot in the waters near the walls. It was shockingly cold and he pulled it out just as quickly as it came in. He looked at the water, feeling uneasy about it but he did not know why.

As the hobbit rejoined the Fellowship, Gandalf approached a part of the wall and began to examine it more closely. "Let me see," he said to himself as his hand traced over the faint cravings he found. It didn't take him long to realize what it was and exclaimed, "Ithildin."

"What's that?" Sasuke asked, having heard him.

"Something that is only mirrors starlight and moonlight," he answered, turning away from the door to look up at the night sky. At that moment, the clouds in front of the moon drifted away, allowing it to shine its light down on the walls. The cravings began to glow until it revealed the image of two columns supporting an arch with trees enveloping them. Beneath the arch was a hammer and anvil, a crown, and seven stars while between the two trees was a single star. On the arch itself, words had been engraved. "It reads 'The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria, speak, friend and enter,'" Gandalf told them all, using his staff to show where the words were.

"What do you supposed that means?" Merry asked him.

"Oh, it's quite simple. If you are a friend, you speak the password and the doors will open." He placed his staff on the single star and began chanting in a different tongue.

"_Must be Elvish,"_ Sasuke thought to himself. But whatever the language was, it didn't seem to work. Gandalf frowned, and then tried to again, speaking different words. He was no successful the second time then he was the first.

The mood of the Fellowship, which had risen since finding the walls, began to drop again. Looks began to pass between the members and Pippin was the one who stated the obvious. "Nothing's happening."

Gandalf ignored him and stepped up to the door. He placed his shoulder against it and tried pushing it open. When that didn't work, he tried his hands. "I once knew every spell in all the tongues of elves, men, and orcs," he muttered aloud.

"So you're losing your touch?" Sasuke asked him with a small smirk.

While the rest of the Fellowship might've sent him shocked looks, Gandalf just looked at him with irritation. "Now is not the time for you to prove that you are Madara's descendent, Sasuke!"

"So, what are you going to do then?" Pippin asked.

That was when his temper broke. "Knock your head against it, Peregrin Took! And if that does not shatter them, and I'm allowed a little peace from foolish questions, I will try to find the opening words."

The hobbit got the obvious hint and promptly shut up. The Fellowship realized that what the Wizard was planning to do would take some time. So they made themselves comfortable (as comfortable as they could get in that kind of area) and waited.

No one kept track of time as they waited. The area began to fill with the sound of Gandalf speaking in different languages. Sasuke could hear all of them from where he leaned against the wall. To his surprise (and silent delight), he found the languages to be soothing. They made him feel calm and relax, like something one would hear from an old relative. If it wasn't for the hint of annoyance and worry in Gandalf's voice, he would've been tempted to close his eyes and drift away into sleep.

Instead, he let his eyes focus on other things, like the fact Aragorn and Sam were unpacking Bill and sending him away. _"Why are they doing that?"_ He looked back at Gandalf and figured it out. A pony would probably lose its mind inside there and panic. That was never good.

His attention turned to Merry and Pippin, who were throwing rocks into the water. Aragorn quickly stopped that. "Do not disturb the water," he told the hobbits, grabbing Pippin's arm before he threw a rock.

"Oh, it's useless," Gandalf declared as he stepped away from the Doors, tossed his staff to the ground, and sat down on a log.

"Do you want me to break them down?" Sasuke asked him, gesturing to the doors. He could probably do it. It would just be loud.

"No, do not do that," he said in reply.

"There has to be a way to get them open."

"Do you have any idea to do that, young Sasuke? Perhaps you know something that I don't." Those words were a challenge, plain and simple. And yet, it was not a serious challenge. It was more akin to an offer to see what he had thought up.

But all he did was shrug his shoulders. "You make it sound like I know how to open them and I don't. All I can offer is that perhaps the creators of these Doors were being both subtle and obvious about the answer."

When he heard those words, a realization struck Frodo. He stood up and more closely examined the writing, even though he could not read them. "It's a riddle," he declared. As he was figuring this all out, the water next to them began to ripple. "Speak 'friend'…enter. What's the Elvish word for friend?" he asked Gandalf.

"Mellon," the Wizard answered and at those words, the Doors began to open, drawing the attention of everyone there. Chuckling a little, Gandalf stood up and led the way, placing a crystal on the tip of his staff.

"Both subtle and obvious," Gimli repeated with a grin as he entered through the doors beside Sasuke. "Now that you have said, I can see it. That was well done of you, Sasuke. Soon, you and Master Elf behind us will enjoy the fable hospitality of the dwarves. Roaring fires! Malt beer! Red meat off the bone!" he declared with joy as the path in front of them became clearer due to the light from Gandalf's crystal. "This is the home of my cousin Balin and they call it a Mine! A Mine!"

But the light from the crystal revealed things, horrible things. "This is no mine," Boromir said in realization filled with horror. "It's a tomb!"

Surrounding them were bodies of dead dwarves. They were everywhere, even on the stairs that lay in front of them. They had stumbled onto the sight of a battle that the dwarves living in Moria had lost. "No," Gimli said in horror when he saw the skeletons, for that was all that remained of their bodies. He quickly went over to one to see it closer and saw that dwarf had been killed by two arrows to the neck. The armor he wore and axe he wield were all but brown from rust and cobwebs were spun all around him. Even his beard had turned into a mangy thing. "NOOO!" howled the only living dwarf there.

Legolas pulled out an arrow from one of the corpses to look at it closer. "Goblins!" he said, realizing the craftsmanship (which was to say, poor but cruel).

The single word he said also served as a warning to everyone. Both Boromir and Aragorn drew their swords while he nocked an arrow to his bow. Sasuke stood at the ready with his **Sharingan** blazing. Meanwhile, the hobbits had begun to back out of the Mines. "We make for the Gap of Rohan," Boromir said in a grim but hard voice. "We never should have come here. Now get out of here! Get out!"

That was when the next nasty surprise appeared. In one second, Frodo felt something wet and slippery grasp his leg. In the next second, it had yanked him off his feet and began dragging him to the water. He tried to get out, but the tentacle (which was what had the grasp on his leg) was strong.

But the other hobbits had noticed what had happened. Crying out his name at roughly the same time, both Merry and Pippin grabbed hold of Frodo's arms and began pulling him back, creating a tug-of-war. "Strider!" cried out Sam, alerting Aragorn and the others to what was happening. The hobbit then leapt into action, drawing his blade and hacking away at the tentacle. "Get off him!" he yelled at it.

Within two swings of his sword, the end of the tentacle was holding on by a flap of skin. It released its grasp on Frodo and withdrew to the water, disappearing beneath the surface. Both Pippin and Merry pulled their friend back, thinking that they were safe. But that feeling was incredibly short-lived when more tentacles burst out of the water, knocked three of the hobbits away, and grabbed the one it wanted, dragging him up into the air.

Legolas stepped out of the Doors, shooting the arrow he had nocked at the tentacle holding Frodo. But it did no good. Both Boromir and Aragorn were the water, cutting away at the other tentacles so they could get closer. Sasuke stood on the shore, his right hand clutching his left wrist, waiting for the right moment.

When the head of the beast commanding the tentacles emerged from the water and opened its gaping maw, Frodo screamed louder as he dangled in the air, realizing the implication. Boromir hurried his swing when he saw the same thing, cutting off a tentacle faster and making the creature wreathe in pain.

Its wreathing allowed Aragorn to get to the hobbit-grasping tentacle and cut off. The grip it had on Frodo slackened and the hobbit fell down into the safety of Boromir's arms. "Into the Mines!" cried out Gandalf, urging those who were on the shore through the Doors.

But the creature was not done nor was it going to give up its prize so easily. "Legolas!" shouted Boromir as he waded through the water carrying Frodo. The elf prince saw what he was silently asking for and promptly fired off an arrow, striking the creature in one of its eyes. It roared in pain and fell back slightly.

"Into the cave!" shouted Aragorn as he got out of the water and raced towards the Doors along with everyone else.

Sasuke stood at the Doors, pushing everyone else through. "Go, go!" he urged Aragorn, who was the last one through. His left palm was coated in lightning again and he swung it wide. **"Chidori Senbon!"** The jutsu sprayed an uncountable number of the lightning senbon into the water, shocking the creature immensely and with any luck, killing it. Seeing that his work was done, Sasuke fled into the Mines.

But the Watcher was not done either. Its tentacles grasped the Doors of Durin, like it was going to pull itself out of the water and after them. But what happened was the Doors broke apart and fell down, along what felt like the rest of the walls to the Fellowship, who watched it happen. The way out, as well as a good portion of the entranceway, were blocked by the collapse of the stone, covering them in darkness.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

I know that since **Kirin** is just natural lightning, it obeys the rules of lightning. That is why Saruman had time to prepare that spell, because even if lightning strikes the ground in 1/1000 of second, it still has to get to the ground it's going to strike.

If Saruman had learned about Madara, he would've definitely sent people after him to learn about the new land. But when it came to capturing shinobi to bring back, that's where they lose. Compared to the shinobi, whoever Saruman could've sent would've been an amateur (if not an outright novice).

I might've offended the Tolkien purists out there by that discussion (or lecture, take your pick) in the cave. Now, let me be clear: those were Sasuke's beliefs, not the truth of it. Not everything the Fellowship takes for the truth and the same goes for him. What is true and what isn't may or may not be revealed later on. And I might add some more while I'm at it.

Legolas and Gimli are little like Sasuke and Naruto if you think about it. They fight and bicker all the time and yet, at the end of the day, they are the best of friends.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	5. Sorrow-filled secrets

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 5: Sorrow-filled secrets

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Sasuke)

For a brief moment, he could see nothing, only the blackness before his eyes. It was comfortable feeling as he was most familiar with it. But the majority of the others were not, evident by how quickly they were breathing. "We now have but once choice," Gandalf announced as the light from the crystal atop his staff returned, letting the others see. "We must face the long dark of Moria." He walked slowly forward, leading the way. "Be on your guard," he warned the rest of the Fellowship. "There are older and fouler then orcs in the deep places in the world."

"_That's not something we need to know right now, old man,"_ Sasuke thought to himself as he walked forward, next to Legolas and in front of Gimli and the hobbits. Boromir and Aragorn covered the rear.

They all treaded lightly as they walked, careful not to step on the dead. "Quietly now," Gandalf told them in a whisper they could all hear. "It's a four day trip to the other side. Let us hope that our presence goes unnoticed."

Everyone was hoping for that as well. But they climbed the stairs Gimli's curiosity got the better of him. "Forgive me, Sasuke," he said to the man in front of him with a low voice. "But I must know what exactly did you to the creature."

"What do you mean by that?" Sasuke asked back just as quietly.

"I'm talking about the thing with the lightning in your hand. If you had such a thing to use, why did you not charge the creature when you had the chance instead of flinging it into the water?"

"That's because I was thinking while I was fighting. Electricity can be conducted through water and every on dry land, so I thought it was safe to use. If the creature was still in the water when the electricity struck, it also would've been hit by the lightning."

"And the name of your weapon?" asked the dwarf. "The one you used to take care of the creature?"

"That was called the **Chidori Senbon**," he answered.

"So it's similar to what on you did on Caradhras."

"Only in the sense that they are both lightning jutsus," he told Gimli as they finished climbing the stairs. Behind them, Boromir carefully took out a torch he found on the wall and quickly lit it, giving light to the back of the Fellowship. "Other than that, they are not similar."

If there were any other questions he had, Gimli did not ask them at that moment. For they had walked through the short tunnel at the end of the staircase and entered into one of the largest areas Crabandir had ever seen.

The path that they were walking on did not go straight like an arrow. It twisted and curved around clusters, clumps, and natural spires, all from the stone surrounding them. What wasn't natural was still impressive. If he had to guess, the place they were walking through, with all its wooden scaffolding, bridges, and buckets dangling from wires, was one of the mining areas.

He was not alone in his observations. The others looked around with silent awe on their faces. They were all impressed by what they were seeing. But the awe in their eyes and on their faces turned into something else, a look of wondering and unsureness. Sasuke knew what that look meant. The rest of the Fellowship had a question on their minds, one he had himself: what would this place have been like when it alive with dwarves?

"_It'd probably be less quiet,"_ Sasuke told himself as they kept walking. The path had taken them away from the middle of the area and now had them walking alongside one of the rock walls. He could see how extensive the old dwarves had mined just by looking at the wall. "There must've been a lot of gold or jewels in these Mines for the dwarves to have dug so much," he commented quietly to the rest of the Fellowship.

"That is where you would be wrong, Sasuke," Gandalf said as he pressed his hand lightly on a vein of metal in the rock. "The wealth was not in gold, or jewels, but mithril." He lowered his staff and urged more light to come forth, allowing them all to see more of the Mines.

While Sasuke had seen a few mines in his years, they had all been made by men. And in the terms of how big and how deep those mines were, the dwarves had them beat. For the depth he saw now was completely bottomless and he could not see the celling of this immense cave. Neither could he see the other side, but he put that down to how far the light was casted.

But there was one thing that bothered him and he risked sounding like an idiot in asking it aloud. He still asked it. "What exactly is mithril?" He asked as the light dimmed. He had read about it, but did not know the exact details of it were.

It was Gimli who answered him. "Mithril, lad, is the greatest prize to be treasured or crafted one could find in the world and for good reason," the dwarf began to explain it to him as they started walking again. "It can be beaten like copper and polished like glass. In the hands of a dwarf, it can be forged into armor that was almost as light as the air and yet, harder than the strongest steel and iron."

"Unfortunately, mithril has become quite rare these days," Gandalf said, entering the conversation. "The last time I had seen any mithril armor was a shirt of rings that Thorin had given Bilbo. I never told him this, but its worth was greater than the value of the Shire."

"Ah! That was kingly gift," Gimli conceded. "But even that would have paled to what my cousin Balin and the dwarves that came with him were trying to create."

"What do you mean by that, Gimli?" Merry asked him.

"After Madara was victorious in his duel against Smaug, the Company was eternally grateful to him. The thirteen dwarves sworn that if he asked one thing of them, they would gladly see it done. All he asked for was a suit of mithril armor done in the style of his homeland as his own was badly damaged and would later be destroyed in the Battle of the Five Armies. Alas, no such suit existed in the vast horde of Smaug, so the dwarves promised to forge one for him. And when a dwarf makes such a promise, he keeps it. Even after Madara had left Erebor and disappeared, they never let go of that promise, using what mithril they had to create this armor. One of the most important reasons Balin had tried to reclaim Moria was so they could use the mithril there to finish the armor, having taken it with them."

"It is an impressive tale, Gimli," Gandalf told him. "But I doubt we will find any such armor here, finished or not. Let us focus more on reaching the other side of the Mines safely."

No one could argue that idea, so they kept quiet and followed his lead. The path he lead them on was sometimes narrow and sometimes wide. It took them through narrow tunnels, small corridors, and wide areas of the Mines, showing how far and much the dwarves had dung in their time there. They climbed stairs and went down stairs while on the path, some were steep and some were not. A small thing that comforted them, Gimli most of all, was that as they walked the path, they did not see any more dead dwarves. It gave them hope that there were still some left alive.

Since they could not see the sun or the sky, they had no proper sense of time. They walked for as far as they could and for as long as they could before finding a quiet place to camp for time. Since it was almost certain that they were not alone in the Mines, they only made fires for when they absolutely needed them. They were a great help to those who stood (or rather sat) watch while the others slept.

It was in such a scenario that Sasuke and Aragorn found themselves in, for they had drawn the lot of first watch that "night" and sat around the small fire, trying to keep themselves warm by it. For what felt like the longest time they sat in silence, not saying a word to each other.

It was Aragorn who first broke the silence. "Sasuke, I wish to speak to you about something," he said to the man sitting across the fire from him.

"What is it?" Crabandir asked him.

"About what you said in the cave during the storm, do you think that it is possible to do an evil act for good?" The thought of that had silently plagued him ever since they had left that cave and came upon the walls of Moria.

The shinobi nodded once. "Yes, it is. But someone can also do a good act for evil." It was always important to remember that.

"But how then does one know when he does a good act for evil or an evil act for good?"

He shrugged his shoulders in reply. 'That will depend on the person."

"On the person?" repeated a confused Aragorn, frowning slightly at those words.

"Despite what people might tell you, your future is not defined before you are born and there is no one definition for good or evil. You decide all of those things with a great and terrible thing: choice."

That got him really confused. "How could choice be a terrible thing to do?" he demanded.

"I said great _and_ terrible. Everything we do in this world is about choice. Why did we camp here instead of later or earlier? Why did we go to Moria instead of risking it at the Gap of Rohan? The choices we make are what define us in our lives, as well as our definitions of what's good and what's evil." He looked at the Ranger. "Why do you ask these questions?"

Aragorn hesitated before answering. "I was thinking of Isildur and what he had done when he took the Ring from Sauron's finger. I was wondering if he had actually been ensnared by the Ring or if he chose to keep it."

"…Tell me, was your ancestor friends with mine?" Sasuke asked him.

"Yes, I believe so. Lord Elrond had often told me of the comradery they had in the Last Alliance." The Lord of Rivendell had also spoken of how the man they knew as Kage did nothing to stop Isildur from claiming the Ring.

"Then perhaps they had the same conversation we are having. Perhaps Isildur had accepted what Indra had told him as truth. Perhaps he had been planning to become the one who shouldered the hatred and fear of being the Ringbearer. Perhaps he had planned to become the third Dark Lord that others would know who their enemy was. Perhaps he had planned to do an evil act for good."

"That…is an interesting to think about it," The heir to the throne of Gondor admitted. If Isildur had planned to do something like that, perhaps that meant he chose to do it and his being killed at an ambush was just poor luck.

"It's up to you to choose to think of your ancestor, Aragorn. I only said perhaps."

He looked at the raven-haired man. "But I do not think that you would've come up with these answers by simply thinking on them. Something had happened to you in your past, didn't it?"

Sasuke scowled at him. "That is none of your business."

"It is a simple question, Uchiha Sasuke," Gandalf said as his eyes opened to see the fire in front of him.

"How long have you been awake?" the shinobi demanded, swinging his head around to look at the Wizard.

"Not long. I only awoke after Aragorn had asked his question of you. Were you not going to answer his second question?"

"It's none of your business either, old man," he snapped, getting angry.

The Wizard looked at him with eyes that seemed to be solemn and yet sad. "It is a simple question, Sasuke."

"Those are usually the ones where you won't like the answer." He knew that all too well.

"Perhaps," Gandalf said, seemingly throwing his own words back at him. "But I find that they are also the ones that bring friends and companions closer. And I do not believe that you wish to remain a stranger to this Fellowship."

"How could I be a stranger when I've come this far with you all?"

"If we sent aside the fact that you are Madara's descendent and the fact that you have been in these lands for ten years, what do we really know about you?"

He stayed silent because he knew the answer to that. Nothing, they knew nothing about him. "Fine, you want to know what happened, I'll tell you what happened. My older brother happened."

"And what did your brother do to make you think of such things?"

"Slaughtered my entire clan and left me alive," he answered, taking a small pleasure in the looks of horror and shock on their faces. "Do you want me to explain or would you like to stop there?"

Gandalf closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again. "Continue, please."

Seeing as how he was trapped by his own words, he had no choice. "My brother, Itachi, was everything I wanted to be, for he was the perfect shinobi. Everyone respected and acknowledged him. I wanted to be him. Then one night when I came home late, I found my entire clan slaughtered and he was the one responsible. He left me alive because he thought I wasn't worth the effort. Because of that night and what he said to me, I did not want to be him anymore. I wanted to kill him.

He saw the looks on their faces, but kept going. "That desire kept me going as I grew and trained. It grew even more after I saw him again and tried to attack him, only to be easily beaten. I was engulfed in my desire to kill my brother that I willingly abandoned my home and village to go to a traitor and learn from him. Once I had learned everything I needed from him, I betrayed him as well and left him for dead. I went looking for my brother and once I found him, I fought him. At the end of that fight, he was dead and I was alive."

"By the Valar," the Wizard amongst them said quietly. He had been expecting something bad (he had seen it somewhat in how the shinobi spoke and held himself), but nothing like this.

"Oh, I haven't even gotten started yet, old man," he said, having heard him. "When I had passed out and later awoken, I had been taken away by another member of my clan, one who had been long thought dead and helped Itachi kill them all. He told me the reason why Itachi had slaughtered his own blood."

"There was a reason?" Aragorn asked. He had seen his fair share of slaughters in his time and he had come to believe that one did not need to have a reason to do so.

"Oh yes, there was a reason. You see, my clan had been planning to revolt because of a supposed insult. And since Itachi was working so close to the Hokage at the time, they used him to spy on the village. But he was more loyal to the village then to the clan and became a double agent. When it became too late for negotiation of peace, the elders of the village ordered him to kill them all. And he did, with the exception of me.

"When I had learned of this, I promised to destroy the very village I had been born in, starting with the elders who ordered him to kill them. I even managed to kill one of them. It took to talking to the spirits of my dead brother and the previous Hokages for me to realize what Itachi had truly done and give up my promise to destroy the village. Now I wished to destroy the entire world that I had known and rebuild it into something I believed to be better. At some point down the road that was my life, I had become what I had thought my brother was: a monster."

They stared at him in silence for the longest time. "You are not a monster, Sasuke," Aragorn finally said. "For one, you do not look like it."

"Monster is another one of those words that have many meanings and definitions, Aragorn. And it isn't always about looks," he replied.

"If you wanted to destroy what you knew as the world and yet, are here ten years later, I assume something happened?" Gandalf asked.

Whatever anger he had about them asking about his life burned out at those words, for he could still remember what happened that made him come to Middle-Earth quite vividly. "Yeah, something did. If there was any chance of my plan to recreate the shinobi world to be successful, I had to kill the person I considered to be my best friend. He was the only one who could've stopped me and he did.

"In the battleground where we had fought, he stood victorious over me at the end of it. He could've ended my life right then and there and it was probably the better choice. But instead, he offered me his hand and when I took it, he pulled me back onto my feet and told me to leave. I did and in the ten years I had been in Middle-Earth, I came to realize what I've told you all. My brother had been the one to bear the darkness and I had planned to do so by recreating the Shinobi world. Only I failed, but I know the darkness."

When they stayed silent, he looked at them both. "I expect both of you to not tell the others about this. They do not need to know about it and it has nothing to do with our quest is."

"Of course," Aragorn said, nodding his head in agreement.

"I think you should be glad that you had such a good friend to allow you to live," Gandalf said to the raven-haired shinobi.

"Yeah, I am." He left at that and so did they.

* * *

He went to sleep when the next watch awoke and when he woke up; it was time to get moving again. The path began to have more and more steep staircases, the kind where the shorter people in the Fellowship had to climb it with both their hands and feet. _"It's a good thing we left Bill behind,"_ Sam thought to himself as they climbed.

When they got to the top of the steep staircase, they saw three corridors in front of them. Gandalf went up a few more steps before stopping and looking at the three corridors. "I have no memory of this place," he declared. Everyone else knew that was not a good thing.

They made a small fire to keep warm while they waited. Gandalf sat in front of the three corridors while Sasuke leaned against the nearby wall. Frodo was sitting against a smaller clump of rocks. When he made a causal look behind him, he saw something that made him turn around. There was something moving up the stairs, something small and was moving in and out of the shadows quickly. He went right up to Gandalf after losing it in the shadows. "There's something down there," he said.

"It's Gollum," the Wizard told him without taking his gaze off of the corridors.

"Gollum?" he repeated, surprised to hear that word. But when Sasuke heard it, he came forward and looked down, his **Sharingan** alight and searching.

"He's been following us for three days," Gandalf said.

"He escaped the dungeons of Barad-dûr," the hobbit said in realization.

"Escaped…or was set loose," the Wizard corrected, finally looking at him. "And now the Ring has drawn him here. He won't ever be rid of his need for it. He hates and loves the Ring, just as he hates and loves himself. Sméagol's life is a sad one." He noticed the look on Frodo's face. "Yes, Sméagol he was once called, before the Ring found him, before it drove him mad."

"It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill him when he had the chance," the hobbit spat, casting a look back down the stairs.

Both Gandalf and Sasuke looked at him sharply when they heard those words. "Pity?" repeated Gandalf. "It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death, and some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them Frodo?" The hobbit had no answer to give back to him. "Do not be deal death and judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play yet, for good or ill…before this is all over."

"He's leaving," Sasuke quietly told them. He watched as the creature below slipped away, deactivating his **Sharingan**.

"The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many," the Wizard said to the hobbit.

Frodo looked unsure, so the shinobi spoke. "Frodo, never hate someone to an extent that you wish to kill them. You'll become them in their place if you do." The Grey Wizard gave him a look, one that he did not return.

The Ringbearer seemed to deflate a little and sat down next to them. "I wish the Ring had never come to me," he confessed. "I wished none of this had happened." Right now, he wished that he could be back in the Shire, living in Bag End in peace.

"So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide," Gandalf told him. "All we have to decide is what to do with the time given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, in which case you were also meant to find it to have it. And that is an encouraging thought."

"I would say it's more of a reminder then an encouragement," Sasuke remarked, earning their attention.

"What makes you say that, Sasuke?" Frodo asked him.

"I know what you're feeling, Frodo, even if I'm not carrying the Ring. What you're feeling is that you don't think you can do this. That the goal you've sent out for is impossible and that would be for the best to turn around and walk away. But the minute you turn, you've lost."

"Then what should I do?"

"It's something very simple. All you have to do is remember why you've come this far and then, take a step forward. Then another step, and another, and another until you've started walking again." He had felt like that a few (a very few) times when he had trained to kill Itachi. His reminder was that night and it was enough for him to keep going.

"Very wise words, Sasuke," Gandalf said to him. "I see you have your own wisdom about how to keep moving forward."

"Yeah, I do," he admitted, looking away from the Wizard. It was strange, but ever since this journey had begun, the old man began to feel like a weird mixture of the Sandaime Hokage and Itachi. He wasn't exactly sure how to deal with that and a small part of him suggested that he start calling the Wizard by his name, for he had certainly earned it.

"It certainly a sad and scary thing to hear how to keep moving from one who has never carried this burden," Frodo remarked, only realizing that he might've made it sound like an insult too late.

But if Crabandir heard as an insult, he did not show it on his face. "No, the sad and scary thing is that you got it from the youngest person in this Fellowship," he replied.

The look on the hobbit's face was one of both surprise and shock. "What? Are you sure?" he couldn't help but ask.

The raven-haired man nodded once. "I'm twenty-seven."

He didn't know whether he should laugh or not. He never would've guessed that the man from Southern-Earth would be the youngest of them all. The way he held himself and the way he spoke made him seem to be much older. But he was younger than Pippin, who was the youngest of the four hobbits! Thankfully for him, Gandalf stopped him from making a choice by saying, "Oh!" Both eyes looked to him when he said that. "It's that way!" he told them, gesturing to one of the corridors.

The declaration got the attention of the rest of the Fellowship. "He remembered!" Merry said, standing up and putting his pipe away. As the rest of the Fellowship gathered up around the Wizard, Sam quickly put out the fire.

"No, but the air doesn't smell so foul down," Gandalf replied as he stood before the corridor entrance, putting his hat back on his head. "If in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose."

"_I think I'll stick to my eyes,"_ Sasuke thought to himself as they started down the steps in the corridor. It was less than the stairs they had climbed up to get here, so they were able to go down easier than they had come up.

The light from Gandalf's staff was the only light they had. The further they down, the less they saw of the light from the corridor entrance. But the only person who felt comfortable in the darkness that was all around was Sasuke. He hung back a little, staying half-way between the light and the dark.

When they got to the bottom, all they saw was great darkness before them. "Let me risk a little more light," the Wizard amongst them said quietly, urging more like from the crystal. It worked and the darkness was pierced, letting them see what was there. "Behold the great realm of dwarf city of Dwarrowdelf."

The light revealed giant ornate columns made of stone that went from ceiling (which was very high up) to floor and they stretched out for miles and miles. Truly, it was all they could see and it astounded them. Sam summed up what they felt of the sight. "There's an eye-opener and no mistake."

"Yes it is, Sam," Sasuke agreed at they began walking forward, into the forest of columns. "Remind me to never bring shinobi from Iwa here. Odds are they would try to destroy it."

"And why would your people want to destroy such a thing?" Gimli asked him, a warning tone in his voice.

"They're not my people. They're from the Land of Earth; I was from the Land of Fire. And they would probably do it out of jealously." That statement earned him looks of confusion, both small and great, so he had to explain. "Shinobi who hail from Iwagakure, the Village Hidden by Rocks, are considered to be the masters of Doton, which means Earth Style in your Common Tongue, jutsus. All of this would make them look like amateurs." He gestured at all the columns they were walking through to emphasize his point.

"Then as the representative of the Dwarves currently in Khazad-dûm, I will take pride in that they would show envy at something great," Gimli declared. "Now tell me, Master Elf, are you impressed by what you see?" he asked Legolas.

"Yes, I am," the elf prince admitted. "I have never seen anything like this before in my long life."

The dwarf grinned when he heard those words, proud to have gotten the elf to admit that the dwarves could build something that would astound him. His grin faded away when he saw a nearby door that had light emitting from it. With a short gasp of surprise and hope, he started running towards it. "Gimli!" called out Gandalf.

But he did not listen. He just ran into the room, hope speeding his way. But his hope and speed disappeared when he saw that in the room was a tomb. The light he had seen shined down on the inscription on the tomb. "No," he said, making it sound like a wish and a prayer. But neither would come true. He could read the inscription perfectly and he knew the double-bladed axe that lay on the tomb, having seen it when he had been young. "No," he said again, taking a knee. "No." Tears began to well up in his eyes.

The rest of the Fellowship came into the room, looking around at the number of skeletons lying around the tomb. Gandalf went straight up to the tomb and read the inscription. "Here lays Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria." He looked at the axe. "That is the axe his father gave him when he came of age."

"Aye," Gimli agreed with a voice full of emotion. "He never really used it, claiming that it felt heavy and cumbersome in his hands. He always preferred his flat-bladed mace." The mention of the weapon seemed like the last straw for the dwarf, the tears began to fall and he cried.

"He is dead then," the Wizard declared, taking off his hat. "It is as I feared."

They all stood at the tomb and gave it a moment of silence. The only sound that was made was Gimli and his tears. Once the moment was done, Sasuke began looking around. The place was clearly the sight of a battle, one that the dwarves had lost. Perhaps even a last stand. If that was true, they must've been on their last legs. He couldn't help but wonder if they didn't leave because they couldn't or they would not leave their lord behind. He had a feeling that it would've been the latter. The dwarves seemed to be the loyal kind, if his watching Gimli and reading about them was anything to go by.

As he looked around, something caught his eye. _"What is that?"_ he asked himself as he looked at the corner where the something was. Whatever it was, it was covered in cobwebs and dirt.

Meanwhile, Gandalf had begun looking around as well. He noticed that one of the dwarf skeletons next to the tomb held a large tome in its hands. He gave his staff and his hat to Pippin so his hands would be free. When he bent down to pick the tome up, he stopped in realization. He recognized the dwarf before him. "Oh, Ori, I am so sorry for your end," he said. When Gimli heard those words, more tears leaked from his eyes.

As the Wizard took the tome and blew dust off of it, Legolas turned to Aragorn. "We must move on," he said. "We cannot linger."

"They have taken the bridge and the Second Hall," Gandalf began to read aloud. He frowned and placed his finger on the page, running through the words until he found the next readable ones. "Óin's party went five days ago but today only four return. The pool is up to the wall at West-gate. The Watcher in the Water took Óin."

Gimli began to weep again at those words. Not only had he lost his cousin, but his uncle too. Still, Gandalf kept reading. "At last…promised fulfilled to…has been stored in the Chamber of Mazarbul…shame it will never see…light of day." He looked up from the tome. "I do not know what he means by these words."

"I think I do," Sasuke said, loud enough for them all to hear. They turned to where he was and saw him picking off cobwebs and wiping off dirt from something on an armor stand. It didn't take him long to finish and they could all see what he had been cleaning.

Gimli had risen to his feet when he saw it. "By the beard of Durin and the beards of my ancestors, Balin actually did it," he breathed out with wonder and surprise in his voice. "A suit of mithril armor has been made."

"_And it's definitely in the style of the Elemental Nations,"_ the shinobi amongst them thought to himself. _"A samurai would be hard-pressed to find a rival to it."_ Each piece of armor gleamed white in the faint light shone upon it. The color was silver-white with only one exception: the red half of the Uchiha fan that was emblazoned on the back of the dō. The dwarves must've taken good notes from Madara because the armor he was looking at was an exact replica of old samurai armor, the kind his ancestor knew. It was flawless; there was no other way to describe it.

Without even thinking over, Sasuke pulled out a scroll, laid it on the floor, and began removing the armor from the stand. "Crabandir, what are you doing?" Legolas asked him.

"I'm taking it with us. Such armor shouldn't waste away in the dark," he answered. He might not have learned a lot about Fūinjutsu when he was learning from Orochimaru (apparently, that had been Jiraiya's area), but he knew how to do a basic storage seal. Once he had all the pieces of the armor on the scroll, he simply channeled his chakra through it and sealed the armor into the scroll.

"By Eru," the elf prince said when he saw this happen.

"Don't be too surprised, that was something basic," he told them as he stood back up, the scroll disappearing into a sleeve of his coat.

Gandalf turned back to the tome. "We have barred the gates, but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes…drums, drums in the deep." He looked at the Fellowship, seeing the unease in their faces, before turning the page. As he did, Pippin had backed into the well in the room and saw the dwarf sitting on it, an arrow embedded in his chest. "We cannot get out. The shadow moves in the dark. We cannot get out." He lifted his head from the page to look at everyone else. "They are coming."

At that moment, Pippin, driven by his curiosity, touched the arrow and twisted. In doing so, the skull of the dead dwarf fell off and into the well. The loud noise made everyone turned towards it. The body went next, as did the chain and finally, the bucket. The noise that they made falling through the well echoed throughout the chambers and the rest of the Mines. All-the-while, Pippin stood there with a guilty expression on his face.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

Sasuke's past was going to come out eventually; it was a matter of what people he showed it too. Personally, I think Aragorn and Gandalf would be the least judgmental. I had also considered Boromir, but I also remember that he is an older brother.

Since I mentioned Óin and Ori before, I also had to mention how they died (and the books are the ones that covered that). Also, I'm not exactly sure where Gimli picked up the axe in the room, so I just put it on the tomb. And if you're wondering why I mentioned the flat-bladed mace and did not show it, that's revealed in the next chapter.

As for the mithril armor, that'll come later. For the record, a dō is the Japanese version of chest armor. I'm more than likely going to be using the Japanese terms when describing the different pieces of armor later on.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	6. Extracting and paying a wergild

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 6: Extracting and paying a wergild

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: the Fellowship)

For the longest moment, no one said anything. Then Gandalf did. "Fool of a Took!" he declared, snapping the tome shut and placing it on the tomb before yanking his staff and hat out of Pippin's grasp. "Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity!"

"I'm sorry, I—" Pippin tried to say.

"Pippin, don't," Sasuke told him, cutting him off. "There's nothing you could say that will fix what you've done."

"I'm sorry," he said again before falling silent.

But in silence, they heard something come up from the well: the sound of drums. It was slow at first. But then it began to get louder and then, it diversified. One series of drums would sound off and another would reply. Once all the drums had been sounded, they began to beat as one again. And with this rejoining of drums, distant sounds that were like voices echoed all around them.

They looked around the room, trying to figure out where the voices were echoing from. Sasuke tried to listen, but they kept echoing off the walls, making it seem they were everywhere. _"Whatever it is, it sounds like a lot of them,"_ he thought to himself.

As the drums faded away and the voices grew, a bad feeling grew inside of Frodo. He reached down for Sting and drew it slightly out of its sheath. It glowed blue. "Frodo!" said Sam, seeing the glowing blade.

Everyone else saw the blade as well. At that exact moment, the echoing voices swelled into a chorus that did not sound right to their ears. "Orcs!" declared Legolas.

Boromir was the first to act, running to the door to see what was coming towards them. Sasuke followed him and pulled him just slightly back so that the arrows that were shot at the door did not pierce him. "You okay?" he asked the man from Gondor.

"I am fine!" Boromir replied. His attention stayed focused on what was coming their way, despite the arrows that were lodged in the door.

The raven-haired shinobi saw the same thing. He unsealed a kunai, attached an explosive tag (which only left him with one, for he had used the rest of the small amount sparingly over the ten years) to it, and threw it. The resulting explosion only faintly rattled the room, shaking loose a few cobwebs here and there. "Did that get him?" he asked.

The smoke cleared quickly enough. "I would say no," the Captain-General replied.

"Get back!" Aragorn told the four hobbits. "Stay close to Gandalf!" As the Wizard ushered the four of them back, the Ranger tossed down the torch he was carrying and went for the door, joining Boromir and Sasuke there.

Between the three of them, they managed to close the door fast enough to only hear a distant bellow. "They have a cave troll!" Boromir declared.

"_So that was that was,"_ Sasuke thought to himself, having read about trolls. He'd thought it be a bit smaller. Maybe it was the distance. "Toss some of those axes over here, Legolas!" he told the elf prince. "We need to barricade the door!"

Legolas did so, tossing two long-shafted axes at Aragorn and Boromir, who immediately wedged them along the lock on the door. Sasuke grabbed two pikes and placed them against the doors themselves, adding weight to the barricade.

It wasn't much of a barricade and it wouldn't hold long (as the banging on the door indicated). But it held long enough for them to back up and prepare themselves, Aragorn and Legolas drawing their bows and nocking arrows, Boromir unslinging his shield from his back onto his arm, and Sasuke drawing out his chokutō.

Tossing his hat aside, Gandalf drew Glamdring with a war cry, the blade glowing just like Sting. In response, the hobbits drew their swords as well. Gimli had climbed up onto his cousin's tomb, taking the battle-axe in hand. "AGH!" he shouted, ready for a fight. "Let them come! There is one Dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath!"

The banging against the door soon turned into chopping, making the eyes of the hobbits go wide in realization. _"They're hacking down the door!"_ Frodo thought with no small amount of fear.

The goblins that were outside the door were indeed trying to get in by chopping it down. At first, a few splinters fell off but those splinters got bigger and bigger as the chopping sounds went on. Before long, a point of crudely-forged weapon cut a hole through the door. There was one hole and then there was another, and then another, each bigger than the last. Still, those in the Fellowship with bows did not react.

Finally, there was a big enough of a hole for an entire spear-shaft to go through with ample space left behind. Legolas fired off his arrow into the hole, killing the goblin holding the spear with a screech. Not one to waste time, he pulled out another arrow.

Aragorn fired off an arrow himself in that time, killing another goblin. But by the time Legolas had nocked another arrow, the door was broken open and the goblins flooded in. Both Legolas and Aragorn got in a few more arrows (even managing to pierce one of them through a goblin's nose), but the goblins had reached them after that.

As Gimli bellowed out a war cry and Aragorn drew his sword, Sasuke caught a blade with his own and swiftly beheaded the goblin facing him. _"One down…"_ he thought.

The battle quickly became chaotic. When Gandalf shouted out a war cry and charged into the fray, the four hobbits behind him did the same. They proved quite the capable fighters, using the advantage of their height (as they were smaller than the goblins) against their foes. Pippin seemed to be especially ferocious. When the others saw him fight, they would later think that he was trying to make up for his mistake.

At times, the separate members of the Fellowship felt that they were alone in a sea of goblins. While they could see the others, they kept getting obscured by the goblins. The only who didn't have this problem was Gimli, as he was still standing on the tomb and swinging at any goblin that was stupid to get close (and goblins were never known for their size of brains).

At one point, Sasuke found himself beside Pippin and noticed the aggressive way the hobbit fought. "Keep a cool head, Pippin," the shinobi told him sharply. "You're liable to end up dead if you don't."

The Took didn't say anything in reply, but he began to fight less aggressively after hearing those words. Crabandir nodded in acknowledgement to him but then had to return to the fighting, lest he was killed by a lack of paying attention (and that was _not_ the way he was going to die).

His chokutō was an immense help to him, as its superior craftsmanship damaged many of the goblins' weapons (which at best could only be called crude. He wasn't even a weapons prude and he could tell that). The looks of surprise the goblins had on their faces when they saw their weapons all but destroyed always gave him enough time to kill them. If it wasn't for the fact that he was practically surrounded and more kept coming in, his sword and his **Sharingan** would've made this easy.

He paid no real attention to the others as he fought (save to mark their location and try to come to their aid if they need it, like Pippin). But one of them paid attention to him. It happened when one of the goblins aimed for his head with a weapon. He held the weapon in check with his own, but was a little surprised to see that the weapon was made of bronze and good quality too. "Stay your blade, Sasuke, and send that one to me!" Gimli shouted out at him.

"Why would I do that when I can kill him right here?" he shouted back while also burying his foot in the face of another goblin, crushing it.

"He's wielding my cousin's mace! I mean to mean to teach him why he shouldn't have done that," the dwarf explained shortly while he also beheaded a goblin who had tried to hack off his legs.

That was fair enough. "Here you go!" He broke the hold with the goblin, grabbed him by the shoulders (surprising him), and shoved him to the son of Glóin.

The goblin shrieked at the dwarf and tried to use the weapon he had stolen from a dead dwarf's tomb, for the weapon to be knocked from his grasp by one axe. And while he stared with a stunned expression at his hand, his head was removed by the other axe. "That was for Balin!" Gimli declared,

In the midst of the fighting, Sam broke free of the flood and found himself near the door. He would've moved to return to the fighting but paused when he heard something he had never heard before. Both Aragorn and Boromir looked to the door, having heard the sound many times before.

Being led into the chamber on a chain pulled by two goblins, was the cave troll Boromir spoke of before the fighting began. Hefting a rather crude club, the troll roared at everything in there. _"Huh, he's big,"_ Sasuke silently noted, already analyzing everything about the creature with the **Sharingan**.

Legolas didn't waste any time in firing off an arrow at the troll, hitting it in the lower shoulder. But that only made it angrier. Roaring again, it took a few steps forward and saw Sam. When the hobbit saw the troll raise its hammer, he shouted in equal parts fear and adrenaline and then leapt in between the troll's legs, just as the hammer came down.

When the troll turned around to find the crawling hobbit, Sasuke could already see what it was planning to do. _"Not good."_ Trying to think of and find a way to stop it from happening, his eyes fell on the chain, still being held by the goblins. With two swift strokes, he killed them and the chain fell to the ground. "Aragorn, Boromir!" he shouted to the two men as he grabbed the chain. "Help me out!"

They saw what he was trying to do and quickly fought their way over to the chain, grabbing hold of it. "Pull!" Aragorn ordered as the troll raised its foot to squash Sam. The three of them pulled as hard as they could, and it worked.

The chain was attached to a collar on the troll's neck. It pulled the toll back a step or two away from Sam (allowing the hobbit to get away safely). It roared as it was pulled back and turned around, swinging the club at the people holding the chain.

Both Aragorn and Sasuke had let go of the chain when they saw it start to turn. But Boromir was still holding on when the club was swung. He ducked and avoided it, but became slightly dazed in the process and when he stood back up he realized too late that he was still holding the chain.

The troll saw him still holding on and swung the chain with its free hand, making the man from Gondor drop his sword as he was flung toward a wall. He crashed against the wall and landed briefly on the upper level before falling back down to the floor. He was still dazed when he saw a goblin standing over him with a blade raised with obvious intent. His life would've ended right then and there had Aragorn not thrown his sword into the goblin's neck. Shaking himself out of the daze, he looked at the Ranger, who gave him a brief nod before going back to the fight. He pulled his sword out of the goblin and joined the fight again.

When he let go of the chain, Sasuke had tried to get in close to the troll and eliminate it. But the goblins must've realized that he was the greatest danger of the ten and so swarmed him, pushing him away from the troll and keeping him busy. "Help please!" he called out.

"I am coming!" Gandalf assured him, starting to fight his way through the goblins to his side. "Merry, Pippin, keep Frodo safe!" the Wizard told the two hobbits. They nodded in acknowledgement and fought their way over to the Ringbearer. Once they were by his side, they moved to a safe part of the upper levels. Legolas, who had climbed up there on the opposite side of the room, saw them and began fighting his way towards them.

When he saw the troll coming his way, Gimli threw one of his smaller axes at it. It struck it in the shoulder (actually splitting Legolas's previous arrow in half), but it only made the troll angrier. When he saw the club rise up, Gimli knew there was only one option left to him. _"Forgive me, cousin,"_ he silently prayed before leaping off the tomb just as the club smashed it to pieces, desecrating it. Thankfully, the tome had flown off the tomb had landed safely (and yet, ironically) in the grasp of a dead goblin.

He got back up and fought off the nearby goblins while also trying to stay from the troll, who was following him and swinging the club. The swings were wild and were more inclined to hit goblins rather than the dwarf. But when Gimli stumbled away from a goblin's sword and fell to the ground, the troll seemed to have him.

That is, until Legolas nocked two arrows to his bow and shot them at the troll. They hit the big creature with such a force that it fell back, almost tripping over its own chain, and dropped its hammer. Gimli, now safe from immediate troll danger, got back up to his feet and attacked the goblins again.

The elf was still trying to fight his way over to the hobbits when the troll took notice of him. It began to swing its chain in the air like a whip, aiming for the elf. When Legolas saw the incoming chain, he ducked and avoided it. Two more times the troll swung its chain and he dodged it each time.

It was on the fourth time that he got lucky. The chain wrapped itself around one of the pillars after missing him. Acting quickly, Legolas placed his boot on the chain, stopping the troll from pulling it free. Using his agility and speed, he ran up the chain onto the top of the troll. Keeping his balance on the struggling creature, he nocked an arrow and shot it directly at the troll's head.

It did nothing, except shatter the arrow and make the troll mad enough to snap free of the chain while the elf leapt off and landed back on the ground. _"Did he really think that would work?"_ Sasuke asked himself as he tried to fight his way out of the goblins swarming around him (which was somewhat working with help from Gandalf). He knew that shooting directly at the head on a creature like that would be next to impossible; the bone would be too thick.

The sound of a pan hitting something filled the shinobi's ears. He looked over to where the sound was coming from and saw a particular sight. Sam had taken a frying pan out of the gear on his back and was banging goblins on the head with it. It was effective as the goblins were stunned long enough for the hobbit to stab them. "I think I'm getting the hang of it," Sam said aloud, but to himself.

Had that been any other time, Sasuke might've permitted himself a chuckle and a small smirk at those words. But it wasn't any other time and he had a swarm to cut through. He did, however, make a small note to himself. _"Never introduce that hobbit to the women of the Nara clan."_ Then he noticed something else. _"Where did the troll go?"_

His answer came in the form of Pippin, who had shouted in fright. As he and Merry were trying to keep Frodo out of harm's way, the troll found them and made its way over to them, rising its club and then bringing it down onto the part of the upper level they were standing on, making them split apart by jumping away from the club, Merry and Pippin to one side and Frodo to the other. "Guys!" the shinobi shouted out to any in range who heard him.

Aragorn heard him and also saw the troll. "Frodo!" he called out to the hobbit and began fighting his way over to him. Sasuke did the same, cutting through the swarm (which had less numbers now).

As the troll began looking for the single hobbit (its tiny brain realized the fact that one was easier to catch then two), Frodo hid behind a column. He looked beyond the edge a little to see the troll. When he saw that it pulled back and he saw its hand change its grip, he knew that it would check the other side. So when its head disappeared, he quickly went around two sides to hide again.

It was successful and the troll didn't see him. When it pulled back again, he moved again. However, he only moved to the next side. He looked beyond the edge, saw nothing, and breathed a sigh of relief. However, he did not think a troll would ever consider the notion of double-checking.

But the troll did, and it also knew the concept of surprise, for it threw its head into the hobbit's sight and roared in his face, making him yelp in surprise and fall to the ground on his back. As the troll reached for him, he tried to back away only to back himself into the corner. The troll grabbed ahold of him and tried to pull him down to the lower level.

He tried to grab hold of something that would stop this from happening, but found nothing. "Aragorn! Sasuke!" he cried out for help.

Aragorn (who, at some point, had snatched a spear from one of the goblins) was the closer of the two and he was able to see the danger the hobbit was in. "Frodo!" he shouted out as he fought his way over. Sasuke could see the danger too and fought harder, almost free of the swarm.

Just as the troll was about to pull him off the upper level, the hobbit struck its hand with Sting, making it release its grip on him. The downsides of that idea were that he fell to the lower level and the troll did not pay much attention to the small wound on its hand. It raised it club, intent on bringing it down on the hobbit.

'That was when Aragorn leapt down with the spear and stabbed it into the troll's torso. The troll screamed in pain and dropped its club. Both Pippin and Merry tried to help Aragorn by throwing stones at the troll.

Sasuke had gotten free of the swarm that had been hounding him and raced toward the troll. "Merry! Pippin! Behind you!" he shouted up to the stone-throwing hobbits. A group of goblins were heading for the two hobbits, hoping to take them unawares. But they heard the shinobi's words and turned to the group with their swords ready.

Seeing that they were taking care of themselves, Sasuke turned his attention back to the troll, who still had the spear stuck in its torso with Aragorn holding it there. The shinobi dived into a roll with his chokutō at the ready, aiming for just underneath the troll's legs. The idea he had was that if he managed to pierce of the legs, and by channeling his lighting chakra through the sword, he could probably saw the leg off in a matter of seconds.

But as the troll kept moving around and trying to get the spear out, the position of Sasuke's roll became misplaced and he realized it too late, just when he came out of the roll and thrust his sword upwards. Because of the misplacement, the sword had pierced something else and thus, history was made. For never before in the years of Middle-Earth had anyone shoved a sword up a troll's ass.

As he stared up at where he had placed the sword (with his hand still gripping it, nonetheless), the only thought Sasuke had was, _"This is something Naruto would do, not me!"_

With a roar of pain, the troll knocked Aragorn away, sending him right into a nearby column and knocking him unconscious. Not wanting to get stepped on, Sasuke pulled out the sword and got out of the way in the opposite direction of Aragorn. But that turned out to be a bad idea.

Frodo had crawled over to Aragorn and tried to shake him awake while the troll finally yanked out the spear. When it didn't work, he tried to get out of the confined area, only to have the troll block his path with the spear. The troll then pushed him back up against the wall and then stabbed him in the chest.

It was the gasp of pain that drew the attention of the conscious members of the Fellowship. When the spear imbedded in Frodo's chest, the world seemed to slow down and then stop. The troll seemed to sneer at the hobbit one last time before releasing its grip on the spear. Merry and Pippin (who were still on the upper level) grasped their swords in a reverse-grip and leapt onto the back of the troll with a shout. Once they on the troll, they began stabbing it in the back. The troll roared pain and began to spin around, trying to get them off.

Sam could only stand in his place and look at his master and friend. "Frodo," he said in shocked horror, only a getting a groan of pain in response. "Frodo!" he shouted, rushing towards the hobbit. He fought with a rage he didn't he had, using both sword and pan to devastating effect. In fact, the sight of Frodo brought a similar rage to everyone still fighting (hence, why Merry and Pippin had jumped onto the troll), which scared the rest of the goblins out of the room. It only intensified when Frodo fell to the ground, the spear still imbedded in his chest.

Both Merry and Pippin held onto the troll as they kept stabbing it, even as it kept swerving around, trying to reach them. It got lucky and grabbed Merry by his legs, holding him upside down in the air. He had dropped his sword and was screaming for help while it felt like his legs were about to be crushed.

The others saw his plight and rushed to attack the dwarf. Boromir stayed to the back perimeter so the troll could not escape while Gimli, Gandalf, Legolas, and Sasuke attacked. They were forced to dart in and out so they could avoid the reach of the troll's arms. But because of this tactic, most of their strikes did not hit the troll.

Gimli was the first one to strike it, slicing an axe through its thigh while its back was turned to him. The troll whirled around, briefly touching the wound with the free hand, and then pulled it back to anchor for a swipe. That was when Gandalf struck, slicing a wound open on its side. In its surprise, the troll let go of Merry, who fell to the floor with a thud and pained groan.

Gandalf struck again before moving back and then Gimli moved forward to strike. But while he got one, the troll struck back and sent him crashing to the floor. Legolas had an arrow nocked and aimed at the troll, but it saw the arrow and took a swipe at the elf, forcing him back.

Trying to get in close to pierce the troll, Sasuke had an idea and backed off. "Pippin, make him scream!" he told the hobbit still on the troll while pulling a knife and his last explosive tag. Pippin did as he was ordered and stabbed the troll in the neck, making it bellow in pain. The minute its mouth was open, Sasuke threw the knife into the maw and saw it pierce the roof of the mouth. "Jump off!" he shouted at Pippin.

The hobbit did jump off and just in time too. The head of the troll exploded with such a sound that it rattled the ceiling. Whatever blood and guts that spewed out of the gap where its head used to be was small and hit only the ceiling. The now headless troll fell to the ground, dead.

But their attention was not on the troll, it was Frodo. Aragorn (who had regained consciousness) crawled to him. "Oh no!" he said in a quiet voice while Sam looked on.

But when he reached out and rolled Frodo over, the hobbit let a groaned breath of life. Sam was instantly at his side, seeing if there was anything wrong. "He's alive!" he declared to the rest of the Fellowship, deeply relieved.

"I'm alright," Frodo said, panting slightly as he sat up. "I'm not hurt."

"You should be dead," Aragorn told him. "That spear would've skewered a wild boar!"

"I think there's more to this hobbit than meets the eye," Gandalf remarked with the faintest hint of a smile on his face.

Frodo was already going for his shirt, undoing the first couple of buttons to show them what was beneath it. "Mithril!" said Gimli as he looked at the shirt of the precious metal Frodo was wearing. "You are full of surprises, Master Baggins!"

Whatever else could've been said at that moment was overridden by the screeching of goblins. They all looked to the smashed door and saw the growing shadows of reinforcements. "To the Bridge of Khazad-dûm!" announced Gandalf.

They all stood up to run. "Wait!" cried Gimli as he ran over to one of the goblin corpses and took the tome from its grasp. "This must go back to King Dáin! He must know of what happened here!"

Sasuke went to his side, pulling out the same scroll he had sealed the armor in. "Give it here!" he ordered the dwarf, unwrapping the scroll to a free space. Gimli placed the tome on the scroll and it was quickly sealed. "Now let's go!"

They ran out of the chamber through a hole near the back, just right of where the light was shining through. But as they ran, the goblins returned in force, a much bigger force. They could hear the screeching behind them and when one of them looked back (one of the hobbit mostly), they could see the horde following them. It was enough to make them not look back.

But that wasn't all they were coming from. They also came out of the floor and the ceiling, crawling down the columns like spiders in a web. As they ran, it became more and more obvious that they were becoming surrounded. It was soon proven true when they found that the only open space they had left was the circle of light that emitted from Gandalf's staff.

"This does not bode well for us," Gimli said. "But I plan to take many goblins with me!"

"Don't be so sure of that," Sasuke told him, his **Sharingan** alight and searching. "Gandalf, how far away are we to the bridge?" he asked the Wizard.

Gandalf looked at him. "The passage is just over there," he answered with a jerk of his head in a direction. In that direction, past the horde of goblins, was a doorway.

"Alright then, I'll probably be able to carve a path to there. But all of you will have to stay close." He took a deep breath to ready himself.

"What are you planning to do, Sasuke?" Boromir asked him.

"Something I haven't done in over a decade." He sheathed his sword and began to channel his chakra when things changed.

A low growl that seemed to engulf the entirety of the cavernous hall filled the air. From one end, a dark smoky orange started to appear. But that was not what surprised the Fellowship. What surprised them was the fact that the goblins were now scared.

Shrieks of terror and confusion began to fill the air all around them as the goblins looked upwards, trying to figure out what was happen. Another growl, louder this time, filled the air and the confusion was quickly replaced with just terror. They scattered, running back into the cracks in the floor and ceiling from where they came.

Gimli shouted triumphantly at their backs as they ran. But even his shouts faded away when the goblins disappeared and all that was left the smoky orange glow. A slow growl dragged through the air, feeling longer then what it was to the ears of the Fellowship.

Now that the goblins were all gone, their focus was on the glow that was slowly but steadily approaching them. Legolas had an arrow nocked and pointed at the glow, but his hands were trembling, showing how uncertain he was of the glow.

He wasn't alone in that feeling. "What is this new devilry?" Boromir asked Gandalf, standing behind the Wizard.

He did not answer right away. Instead, he closed his eyes and the Fellowship waited for his answer (Legolas had lowered the bow and put the arrow back in his quiver). Sasuke had seen the look on Gandalf's face before. It was the same kind of face Orochimaru or even Kakashi had worn while they were in deep concentration. But there was a subtle difference between them and the Grey Wizard. If the raven-haired shinobi had to guess, he would say the old man was reaching out with his mind, or something close to that idea.

It must've been the case, for the growl returned, louder and more menacing, just as Gandalf opened his eyes again. "A Balrog, s demon of the ancient world," he finally answered Boromir's question. For those who knew what that was, looks of terror appeared in their eyes.

When he said those words, the glow kept coming closer. Sasuke had a chilling thought. Why were they seeing any shape or form of a body? Was it so immense that the glow actually was ahead of the body?

"This foe is beyond any of you," Gandalf told them all. If he wasn't distracted by the glow, Sasuke might've disagreed with that sentiment. "RUN!"

That single shout set them off, running towards the doorway the Wizard had pointed out to the shinobi. Whatever was coming their way seemed to notice, as they heard a loud roar at their backs. But no one wanted to look to see if there was a body that came with that roar. They just kept running.

When they got to the doorway, Gandalf and Aragorn ushered the others through it, pushing them through with their hands. Boromir took the lead through the passage, going down the steps quickly. But when he came out into a large cavern, he realized almost too late that the staircase that went straight down was gone. He stopped on the last stepped, failing his arms somewhat to maintain his balance, dropping the torch he was carrying into the abyss.

Legolas pulled him back away from the abyss and they fell back onto the staircase. "Now is not the time to be lying around!" Gimli told the two of them even as he helped them back onto their feet. "Take the stairs to the side, the side!" Those who heard him immediately went to the side stairs.

Sasuke and Aragorn were still at the passageway, waiting for the last member of the Fellowship. "Gandalf!" said Aragorn, grabbing the Wizard's shoulder when he looked like he was about to fall.

"Lead them on, Aragorn," Gandalf told him. "The bridge is near!" Both the Ranger and the shinobi looked at what he talking about. The Ranger looked to argue, but the Wizard would have none of it. "Do as I say! Swords are no more use here!"

They ran down the side staircase, Sasuke taking to the back. As it turned, the Fellowship realized that its path went in the same direction as the broken staircase Boromir almost fell off. The growl of the unseen Balrog kept their feet moving. But their feet stopped when they came to a gap that had broken the staircase.

Legolas was the first to jump across, landing on the other side and then looking back up. The sound of something slamming into the rock filled their ears, making them look back. The passageway came alight with the orange glow and rocks began to fall from the ceiling. "Gandalf!" urged Legolas.

The Wizard looked back to the stairs and jumped just as they heard another roar. He landed safely, but then arrows started flying. They all looked at where the arrows were coming from and saw a group of goblins on a faraway ledge with bows nocked with arrows. One arrow struck the step just beneath the feet of Merry and Pippin. Both Legolas and Sasuke reacted, the elf with his own bow and Sasuke with his stash of knives sealed away in his wrist.

"Merry! Pippin!" shouted Boromir just before he grabbed the two hobbits and leapt. They landed safely, but the portion of stair they had been on broke off and fell into the abyss. The gap between the two stairs was now much larger and jumping wasn't that easy anymore. The goblins kept up their assault, forcing Legolas and Sasuke to respond in kind. Sasuke had to be careful, he was running out of knives and it didn't look like the goblins would be stopping.

"Sam," Aragorn called out to the hobbit, grabbing hold of him and then toss him to the other side, where Boromir was able to catch him.

When the Ranger went to do the same thing with Gimli, the dwarf stopped him with a raised hand. "Nobody tosses a Dwarf!" he declared before leaping with a shout. He landed wrong and Legolas had to grab him by the beard to keep him from falling. "Not the beard!" he instantly protested. He was still pulled to safety by the elf.

Aragorn had pulled out his own bow and fired off one of his own arrows just as the stairs beneath him began to give way. "Frodo!" he called to the hobbit, pushing him up the stairs. Sasuke helped by grabbing Frodo and pulling him up. As Aragorn tried to follow, the stairs continue to fall, making him end up holding on by his arms. But he quickly got back onto his feet.

The problem they were facing was much more obvious. The gap between the two staircases had been widened even more, making jumping downright suicidal. Both Aragorn and Frodo were leaning back to avoid falling and once he had run out of knives to throw, Sasuke had also taken their stance. "Steady!" Aragorn told the two of them. "Hold on!"

"That's what we're doing, Aragorn," Sasuke told him with the smallest amount of sarcasm the situation would allow.

Another loud growl was heard and more rocks fell from the ceiling. One large rock struck the flat portion of the staircase the three were balancing on, smashing through and making the declining portion an island. What was worse was the pillar holding that particular portion of the staircase began to weaken and crumble. It began to move in accordance to how the three of them shifted their balance.

"Hang on!" Aragorn said to Frodo and Sasuke as they tried to keep the stairs from falling the wrong way. The pillar continued to crack and break, creating a groaning sound and making more dangerous for them. "Lean forward!" the Ranger told them, shifting his weight forward. The other two did as he did and with a groan, the pillar fell forward. It fell closer and closer to the rest of the Fellowship and just as it smashed into the lower staircase, they jumped into friendly arms.

As the pillar fell into the abyss, breaking into pieces as it fell, the Fellowship raced down the rest of the staircase, hurrying along so that they would not have the same problem twice. As they reached the bridge, Sasuke got a closer look at it. It was a single, narrow stone bridge with nothing to protect anyone from falling off. He had no doubt in his mind that if a certain bridge builder he had known once had seen this bridge, he would've started ranting about the idiocy of those who built it.

"Over the bridge! Fly!" Gandalf commanded the Fellowship, urging them on with his staff and sword. Sasuke was the last one in the group, allowing the others to go first. But a loud growl at their backs made them stop in their tracks and turn to see a great fire blazing before them.

Out of that fire came something covered in smoke and fire. Sasuke had thought the orcs he had hunted through the years had been oni, but what towered over him put that frame of mind away for good. This was an oni. It had dark wings made of bones and black skin that showed flecks of fire beneath it. Shadows and smoke covered it like a cloak. Two horns curled downward on its head and when it roared at them, the back of its mouth was an inferno.

It took a step towards them and they remembered that they still had feet. They ran for the bridge and the Balrog followed them. But it was only when they started crossing the bridge that Gandalf had noticed that one of them had barely moved. "What are you doing, Sasuke?" he demanded.

"Get across that bridge, Gandalf," the shinobi told him, facing the Balrog. "I'm expendable, you're not. I can buy you some time to get out." He morphed his **Sharingan** into something he hadn't used in ten years: the **Mangekyō Sharingan**. He stepped forward, drew his chokutō, and activated his **Susanoo**.

The Fellowship watched he became engulfed in purple flames that rapidly took the shape of a heavily armored person, wielding a sword of black fire in its left hand. Sasuke was annoyed by the fact that, due to the height of the floor to the ceiling, there wasn't enough room for him to create a perfect form. But he could make do with what he had. He moved his jutsu forward to fight the Balrog, rising the sword up and swinging it down.

But when the Balrog met him, he realized that he had forgotten two important things. The first was that he hadn't used this jutsu in over ten years and had some rust with it. The second was that fire could match fire. The Balrog caught the sword with its bare hands and tore it apart like it was nothing. Since he had connected that sword with his chokutō, the chokutō shattered, making him drop the hilt with a hiss. The sheath, which had been in his other hand, began to grow hot, making him drop it as well.

The Balrog didn't stop there. It grabbed the left shoulder of the **Susanoo** and held it tightly. Orange fire began to mix with purple, overwhelming it and Sasuke began to feel the fire on his coat, burning through it. It burned enough of the coat that the sleeve fell off and he gave a brief noise of pain. But the Balrog didn't concern itself with that. It just raised its free fist and punched the **Susanoo**, shattering it with just that one punch.

Sasuke flew back when the jutsu shattered, landing hard and rolling limply a few times, tearing the coat even more so. He had rolled far enough that his arm and head dangled over the edge. As he tried to get his wits back and figure out what the hell had just happened, he felt a hand grab him by the coat and pulled back onto his feet. "Get across that bridge, Sasuke. You are outmatched. Now go!"

He could only do as he was ordered. He ran across the bridge, all but tearing off the coat as he ran (for it was still burning) and letting fall into the abyss. When he reached the end, he turned to see that Gandalf had stopped on the bridge and was facing the Balrog. "You cannot pass!" the Wizard told it.

"Gandalf!" shouted Frodo in horror from the stairs on the other side of the bridge.

The Balrog responded to his challenge by drawing itself up and revealing itself fully, using its own fire to illuminate what it was. But the Grey Wizard was not impressed. "I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor," he told the Balrog, raising his staff to create a shield of white light. In response, the Balrog drew a sword of flame from out of nowhere. "The Dark Fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn!"

The Balrog slammed its sword down against the shield. Sparks flew as the two battled for victory, but neither won. Both the shield and the sword faded away into nothing. The Balrog stepped back after losing the sword, but then stepped forward again and roared at Gandalf. "Go back to the Shadow!" the Wizard commanded.

The Balrog took another step forward, stepping onto the bridge. In its hand, it formed a whip of flame, swinging it around and snapping it in the air. In response, Gandalf lifted his arms and brought his staff and sword together. "You! Shall not! PASS!" he cried. He slammed the tip of his staff into the bridge and there brief flash of white light.

For a second, Balrog and Wizard looked at one another. Then the Balrog charged forward and it became obvious of what Gandalf did. The part of the bridge the Balrog was on broke apart, falling into the abyss below. The Balrog, completely surprised by this, could only fall with it. The rest of the Fellowship breathed a sigh of relief, Gandalf had beaten the Balrog!

The Wizard himself released a tired breath and turned away from the ruined bridge. And that was when the tide turned. In a last ditch effort, the Balrog swung its whip upward and caught the Wizard by the leg and pulled him down. Caught off guard by this, Gandalf fell down over the edge. He held on by his hands (for his sword and staff fell into the abyss), but the whip was still trying to pull him down.

Frodo tried to rush down to help, but Boromir caught him and held him back. "No!" the man from Gondor told him. "No!"

"Gandalf!" screamed the hobbit.

Sasuke was still at the end of the bridge and so he acted. He all but ran down the length of the ruined bridge and fell to his stomach when he was in reach of the end. "Gandalf, take my hand!" he told the Wizard, extending his right arm out.

Gandalf reached up and out to the hand. Their fingers almost touched when an arrow sailed down from above and pinned Sasuke's hand to the bridge. Shocked at the sudden feeling of pain, the shinobi looked at where they had come and saw goblins with bows standing there. "Legolas! Aragorn!" he shouted back at the elf and man as he pulled the arrow from the stone of the bridge and seeing the point was protruding from the palm.

But whatever he was going to say next died in his mouth when he saw the look on the Wizard's face. He had seen that look before. _"Don't do it,"_ he silently began to beg. _"Don't do it. Don't you dare it, old man!"_

But Gandalf did. "Fly, you fools!" he told them all before disappearing over the edge, when Sasuke looked over it, he saw the Wizard falling into the abyss.

"NOOOOOOO!" screamed Frodo as he watched the Wizard fall. He tried to break free of Boromir's grip, but the man refused to let go.

Instead, he picked up the hobbit and carried him as he ran up the stairs, following the rest of the Fellowship. "Aragorn! Sasuke!" he called out to the remaining people there, stopping for a moment before continuing upwards.

They heard his call and fell back up the stairs, avoiding the arrows the goblins shot at them. They quickly caught up to the rest of the Fellowship and together, they ran out the East Gate of Moria. As they felt the light of the sun on them and the feel of fresh air, their quick pace came to a stop as they realized what had just happened: they had lost Gandalf, a member of the Fellowship.

Sam sat down on a rock and started crying, for he could not help but remember all the good memories he had of the Wizard. Merry sat on a nearby rock, holding Pippin in his lap. The two hobbits were crying as well, but the Took more so. _"It's my fault,"_ he kept thinking to himself. _"All of this, it's my fault. It's all my fault."_

"Let go of me! Let me go!" Gimli shouted as he tried to get out of Boromir's grip. He wanted to go straight back into those Mines and attacked every single one of those goblins. "I'll kill them! I'll send them down into that abyss after them! Let me go!"

"Gimli, it's too late!" Boromir told the dwarf as he held him back. "It's too late! He's gone, there's nothing we can do! He's gone!" The dwarf only slightly stopped struggling. But now, he had tears in his eyes and started cursing in dwarfish.

Legolas could only stand there amidst the rocks. He had never thought he would see the day when a Wizard would fall. "Legolas," he heard Aragorn call out to him and turned to look at the Ranger, who was cleaning his sword. "Get them up." He did nothing for a second before going over to Merry and Pippin.

"Give them a moment, for pity's sake!" Boromir told Aragorn from where he stood over Gimli, who had fallen to the earth and started banging the rocks with the hilt of his axe.

"By nightfall, these hills will be swarming with orcs!" he told the man from Gondor in return. "We must reach the woods of Lothlórien." He sheathed his sword. "Come, Boromir, Legolas. Gimli, get them up!" He reached Sam and helped him stand. "On your feet, Sam," he told the hobbit, who nodded shakily in response.

Frodo had wandered away somewhat from the rest of the Fellowship, along with Sasuke. "Frodo? Frodo! Sasuke!" Aragorn called out after them.

They turned to look back at him. "We have some place to be, right?" Sasuke asked the Ranger in a controlled voice.

Aragorn only nodded once in agreement and went back to the rest of the Fellowship. "Sasuke," Frodo said, realizing something about the raven-haired man. "You still have the arrow in your hand."

The shinobi looked at the arrow; the area around the pierced part of his hand still dripped blood, but slowly. Without saying anything else, he snapped the back part of the arrow off and pulled out the rest of it. The scream that followed echoed throughout the area and even into the Mines. The Fellowship was never sure if it was a scream of anger, rage, pain, or sorrow.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

I know that I said after five chapters, I would go back to writing Woken from Exile. But I can't let this drop now (plus, I'm still thinking of dropping Woken from Exile). So, I'm going to finish this and go from there.

I said that there would be some things that Sasuke wouldn't be able to handle. We've just met one. If I let him be able to overpower everything in Middle-Earth, it wouldn't be any fun to write.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	7. Under the trees

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 7: Under the trees

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: the Fellowship)

They made good time in getting down from the East Gate of Moria and into the fields that stood outside the woods. They did not stop there. They could not stop. They had to keep moving so they could find safety.

But as soon as they walked into the woods of Lothlórien, they did not feel safe. In fact, all they felt was silence. They could hear the woods all around them and they could see it, hearing the sounds of the animals that lived go about their lives and seeing the leaves fall off of the trees. But that was it. Anything just did not seem to be there.

Aragorn and Legolas led the way while Sasuke and Boromir took to the back. The blood from Sasuke's wound had turned dry and crusty, but the pain was still there. Even when he looked at the wound, he could tell that it would scar. He did not earn that scar, but he did deserve it. Gandalf had been right there and he couldn't save him. _"Now is not the time for that,"_ he silently berated himself. _"You must help the others find safety."_

"Stay close, young hobbits!" Gimli told the hobbits, as the five of them were the middle of the traveling group. The dwarf had his axe out and ready to use, but for what they didn't know. "They say that a great sorceress lives in these words. An Elf-witch of terrible power," he said to them, walking forward carefully. "All who look upon her fall under her spell and are never seen again."

Sasuke, who had heard those words, couldn't help but roll his eyes. _"You'd best hope Legolas didn't hear that, Gimli,"_ he thought to himself. It didn't look like the elf had heard the dwarf. He was still up at the front, following Aragorn in the path the Ranger made.

Unbeknownst to the shinobi and the dwarf, Frodo heard a voice in his head. _"Frodo,"_ it whispered his name. He looked around, trying to see where the voice was coming from but could see nothing. It was like a ghost or spirit in the wind. Then the voice spoke again and when it did, he saw a brief vision of blue eyes looking directly at him. _"Your coming to us is as the footsteps of doom. You bring great evil here, Ringbearer!"_

"Mr. Frodo?" Sam said to him, bringing him back to where he was. He didn't say anything to his gardener; he couldn't find any words to say. All he could do was keep walking forward.

"Well, here's one dwarf she won't ensnare so easily," Gimli declared. "I have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox!" It was at that moment, two drawn arrows were pointed at his face, making him stop in his tracks. "Oh!"

He wasn't the only one. Elves with bows drawn and arrows nocked appeared out of nowhere. Everyone, even Sasuke, was surprised by their appearance (Legolas had his own bow drawn and nocked). If he had been alone, the shinobi would've tried to have gotten away, either by smoke bombs or grabbing one of the elves as a shield. But he didn't have any smoke bombs anymore and he couldn't leave the Fellowship alone with them.

"The dwarf breathes so loud, we could've shot him in the dark," one of the elves boasted as he walked forward towards Aragorn. It was obvious that he was the captain of the group.

The dwarf in question growled at those words, but that earned him the arrows getting closer to his face. "Aragorn, these woods are perilous!" he told the Ranger. "We should go back!"

"You have entered the realm of the Lady of the Wood," the elf captain said to Gimli. "You cannot go back." He looked at the rest of the elves with him. "Keep them under close guard," he ordered them.

They lowered their bows, but they still had arrows nocked. The Fellowship was forced to follow the captain as he led them deeper into the woods. They did where they were going and for the hobbits, that was a familiar but still uneasy feeling.

They walked all through the rest of the day and well into the night. When it came time to rest, they were led up onto a series of platforms in the trees, which they would learn were called flets. By that time, the attitude to them seemed to have changed somewhat. Aragorn, Legolas, Boromir, and Gimli stood before the elf captain, who spoke to Aragorn and Legolas in Elvish, (which they would later translate for the rest of the Fellowship). "Mae govannen, Legolas Thranduilion (Welcome Legolas, son of Thranduil)," he said to Legolas, briefly placing a hand on his heart.

"Govannas vîn gwennen le, Haldir o Lórien (Our Fellowship stands in your debt, Haldir of Lórien)," Legolas said in reply.

He looked past Boromir and at the other man there. "A, Aragorn in Dúnedain istannen le ammen (Oh, Aragorn of the Dúnedain, you are known to us)," he said in greeting.

"Haldir," Aragorn returned the greeting.

"So much for the legendary courtesy of the Elves," Gimli grumbled. Once he had stepped onto the flet, he had taken his helmet off. "Speak words we can all understand!" he practically ordered Haldir.

The elf captain merely turned his gaze onto him. "We have not had dealings with the Dwarves since the Dark Days."

"And do you know what this Dwarf says to that?" He spat something in Dwarfish that nobody wanted to or would translate.

But before any of the elves could do anything in response, a hand flew out and struck the dwarf hard on the head. "Baka," Sasuke said as he pulled his hand away. "Courtesy must been given as well as received." He wasn't even looking at the rest of the people there; he was looking out at the woods.

"Lad, you don't even know what I said!"

"I didn't need to. I could hear enough in your tone of voice," he said, turning around.

Haldir's eyes widened slightly when he saw the raven-haired man. "Hello again, Crabandir," he said in greeting.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the elf captain. "I know you, don't I? From seven years ago." He fell silent as he tried to remember. "Were you the one I had to literally pull out of an ambush?"

"No, that was my brother. You saved him and yet, you did not stay to fight off the orcs."

"I was tracking a different orc band that had taken children with them and had a three day lead on me."

It was a good enough of an answer for the elves, for said nothing else about it. In fact, the subject was completely changed. "You are wounded," Haldir noted, looking at his right hand.

"An arrow pierced it," he answered.

"And you have not tended to it."

"We didn't have the time. We were running for our lives and to safety."

He looked to one of the elves under his command. "Tend to his wound," he ordered. If the elf had a problem with the order, he did not say. Instead, he went straight over to Sasuke and began to do as he was ordered.

Haldir's gaze went past the hobbits as this happened and he stopped when his eyes met Frodo's. "You bring great evil with you," he told the hobbit with a coldness in his voice. He turned back to look at Aragorn. "You can go no further!"

He walked away and Aragorn went after him, silently telling the Fellowship to wait before walking away. The two of them started to speak rapidly, but quietly in Elvish while the others waited. Frodo sat on the platform in silence, looking around at the rest of the Fellowship. To his sadness, none of them held his gaze long.

"Gandalf's death was not in vain," Boromir told the hobbit from where he sat across from him, thinking that his silence was in sorrow (and perhaps it was). "Nor would he have you give up hope. You carry a heavy burden, Frodo. Don't carry the weight of the dead."

Sasuke was nearby with a freshly bandaged hand. When he heard those words, he had to restrain himself from snorting in derision. _"For some of us, Boromir, we have no choice in carrying the dead,"_ he thought to himself, thinking of his clan (and his brother).

The hushed voices stopped and Haldir came back to them. "You will follow me," he told all of them. They stood up and followed him through the trees, always walking on the flets. They did not ask where they were going or how long they would be walking in fear that he would just leave them there, alone in a strange place to most of them.

After what seem like an hour or three to them, they finally stopped on a flet that almost looked the same as all the others, with the only difference being an actual roof over their hands. "You will rest here for the night," Haldir told them.

He left them alone with a few guards to keep watch and they began to settle in. No one said anything as they made themselves comfortable. The silence was broken when Gimli saw a harp nearby, went over to it, picked it up, and began tuning it. "What are you doing, Gimli?" Legolas asked him. The elves who kept watch paid closer attention to him.

"Playing a dwarf song of lamentation," he answered, still tuning the harp. "Gandalf deserves that much." Once he was done tuning, he began to play it and sing.

(Start I See Fire)

Oh, misty eye of the mountain below  
Keep careful watch of my brother's souls  
And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke  
Keep watching over Durin's sons

If this is to end in fire  
Then we should all burn together  
Watch the flames climb high into the night  
Calling out father oh stand by and we will  
Watch the flames burn auburn on  
The mountain side high

And if we should die tonight  
We should all die together  
Raise a glass of wine for the last time  
Calling out father oh  
Prepare as we will  
Watch the flames burn auburn on  
The mountain side

Desolation comes upon the sky

Now I see fire  
Inside the mountain  
I see fire  
Burning the trees  
And I see fire  
Hollowing souls  
I see fire  
Blood in the breeze  
And I hope that you'll remember me

Oh, should my people fall then  
Surely I'll do the same  
Confined in mountain halls  
We got too close to the flame  
Calling out father oh  
Hold fast and we will  
Watch the flames burn auburn on  
The mountain side

Desolation comes upon the sky

Now I see fire  
Inside the mountains  
I see fire  
Burning the trees  
And I see fire  
Hollowing souls  
I see fire  
Blood in the breeze  
And I hope that you'll remember me

And if the night is burning  
I will cover my eyes  
For if the dark returns then  
My brothers will die  
And as the sky is falling down  
It crashed into this lonely town  
And with that shadow upon the ground  
I hear my people screaming out

And I see fire  
Inside the mountains  
I see fire  
Burning the trees  
I see fire  
Hollowing souls  
I see fire  
Blood in the breeze

I see fire (fire)  
Oh, you know I saw a city burning out  
And I see fire (fire)  
Feel the heat upon my skin  
And I see fire (fire)  
Uhhhhhhhhh  
And I see fire  
Burn auburn on the mountain side

(End I See Fire)

Everyone who had heard him sing was stunned to hear it. They did not think that he would have such a clear voice. But it was more than that. It was the song he sung. "That…was beautiful, Gimli," Merry told him. "Whoever wrote that should be praised for creating such a song."

"When I return, I'll be sure to pass on your words to Bombur," he replied as he set the harp down. "He wrote it in honor to Thorin Oakenshield after the Battle of the Five Armies."

"Bombur?" repeated Legolas with a small look of concentration, remembering the dwarf in question. "You mean the fattest dwarf of Thorin's Company?"

"Say what you will about his weight and eating habits, but that dwarf has the skill and soul of a musician. It's only a pity he did not use it more." His face fell a little. "And I know it isn't exactly right for Gandalf, but I could think of no other way to sing for him."

No one said anything against him, no one could. The grief of losing Gandalf was still there. Not even the elves that lived in the woods said anything against him and the song he had played and sang. The rest of the night was spent in silence, for the Fellowship fell asleep and dreamed. But they all dreamed the same dream: Gandalf falling again and again.

* * *

The next morning, after a quick breakfast, Haldir came for them again. They descended from the flet and walked along the forest floor. It was a walk in silence with elves to their front and their back and took the better part of the day. Had sorrow not plagued them, they might've seen the beauty of the woods around them much more than they did now.

They finally stopped when they crested a hill and saw the land beneath them. Before, just beyond the valley created by the hill it was on and the hill they stood on, were great trees place so close together, it was almost hard to see where one ended and another began. "Caras Galadhon, the heart of Elvendom on Earth, realm of the Lord Celeborn and of Galadriel, Lady of Light," Haldir said as he looked upon it, a breath of wonder in his voice.

When they went down the hill, went across the valley, and entered the place, Sasuke could only look around and admit to one thing. _"This is what a true village in the leaves should look like."_ For this place was built into the trees, not just surrounding them. If the Shodaime Hokage could see this place, would he be inspired or jealous?

They were led to a staircase that spiraled upwards into one of the largest trees there. So long was their climb that even as they climbed, the light of the sun outside the woods set and the day turned into night. And they still climbed. After a climb that lasted a long time for the Fellowship, they came out of the staircase to see a hall nestled in thick tree branches.

Haldir led them into the hall, to a platform that was before a staircase. As they waited, a glowing light at the top of the stairs began to brightened, getting their attention. Two elves, clothed in silver and white, slowly and gracefully descended down the stairs, holding each other's hands. They were Celeborn and Galadriel, who ruled Lothlórien.

"The Enemy knows you have entered here," Celeborn told them as he and Galadriel stood before them. "What hope you had in secrecy is now gone." He looked at each one of them more closely. "Eight that are here, yet ten set out from Rivendell. Tell me, where is Gandalf? For I much desire to speak with him. I can no longer see him from afar."

"Gandalf the Grey did not pass the borders of this land," Galadriel spoke softly, yet the Fellowship could hear her easily enough. "He has fallen into shadow."

No one said a word, at first. It was all they could do to keep eye contact with her (some of them could not do it). It was Legolas who broke the silence and confessed. "He was taken by both Shadow and Flame. A Balrog of Morgoth, for we went needlessly into the net of Moria," he told the two of them, surprising them.

Gimli's face fell when he listened to those words. It had been his suggestion that they go through Moria. He had thought it would be safe. How wrong he was. "Needless were none of the deeds of Gandalf in life," Galadriel told Legolas. "We do not yet know his full purpose." Her eyes went over to the dwarf in the Fellowship. "Do not let the great emptiness of Khazad-dûm fill your heart, Gimli, son of Glóin," She said to him. "For the world has grown full of peril.

"And in all lands, love is now mingled with grief." Her eyes turned to look at Boromir. The man from Gondor and the elf of Lothlórien stared into each other's eyes. But he could not hold her gaze and he looked away with a gasp of breath.

"What now becomes of this Fellowship?" Celeborn asked. "Without Gandalf, all hope is lost."

"The quest stands on the edge of a knife," his wife said to the Fellowship. "Stray but a little and it will fail to the ruin of all." She looked at them all, seeing the troubles in their eyes. "Yet, hope remains while the Company is true. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Go now and rest, for you are weary with sorrow and much toil."

While she spoke, her eyes went over to Frodo and he heard her voice in his head. _"Welcome, Frodo of the Shire, one who has seen the Eye!"_ To his credit, he did nothing to show he had heard it.

"That may be," Celeborn said. "But as I said, eight that are here, yet ten set out from Rivendell. You are missing one more. Where is the stranger to Middle-Earth? Where is Crabandir?"

Surprised by this question, the Fellowship looked around and did not see Sasuke standing with them. "But, he was standing right here," Sam protested, pointing at a spot next to him. "He was here beside me."

If they had looked over the edge of the platform, they would've found him. He was the other side, plastered against it, looking straight down to the ground. "Do not be troubled, my love," he heard Galadriel say. "Crabandir is with the Fellowship and will not abandon them so easily." That was what she said aloud. What she said in his head was different. _"You do not need to fear me, Sasuke, son of Fugaku, heir to the Uchiha clan. I know you from before."_

"_Get out of my mind,"_ he practically ordered her. The faint presence that he felt inside his mind when she spoke disappeared. While he felt some relief, it was not complete. It wasn't her ability to speak inside his mind that made him plaster his back against the other side of the platform to hide from her. It was her eyes. He had seen those kinds of eyes before.

* * *

Once they had met their host, they were escorted back down to the ground and to an area large enough for them to camp comfortably and sleep under a large pavilion next to a water fountain. All around them, as they finished preparing the camp, the woods echoed with the sound of sorrowful voices. "A lament for Gandalf," Legolas declared as he listened to the voices.

Those who were still awake looked up at the trees, as if the voices were there. "Why do they say about him?" Merry asked the elf.

"I have not the heart to tell you," he said in reply. "For me, the grief is still too near."

"You're not the only one," Sasuke said shortly from he sat on the ground against a tree branch. He could still the old man hanging off the ruined bridge, trying to reach out and take his hand.

"I bet they don't mention his fireworks," Sam commented to Merry from where he knelt on the ground, trying to lay his bedding. "There should be a verse about them." He stood up and began to sing.

The finest rockets ever seen:  
they burst in stars of blue and green.  
or after thunder silver showers  
came falling like a rain of flowers

"Oh, that doesn't do them justice by a long shot," he admitted after that one verse, sitting back down. No one really said a word after that.

Some of them had noticed that Aragorn and Boromir were off to the side and talking with one another, but what they spoke of was none of their concern, especially Sasuke. Not wanting to see Gandalf's face before he fell again, the shinobi tried to get comfortable and fell asleep.

* * *

He found himself laying on the riverbank of that oh-so-familiar valley. His entire world was nothing but pain and yet, it seemed like a faraway thing. He knew that there was a rock digging into his back, but it did not bother him. He was exhausted and yet not tired at all. All these things and more were what told him that he was dreaming of an old memory.

The sound of someone wading through water filled his ears and he looked to the river to see the closet thing he had to a best friend and rival stand beside him. "Well, Naruto, congratulations. You've finally beaten me," he said.

The blonde said nothing, so he did. "So what will you do now? Will you kill me? Will you take me back to the village so I can stand trial for what I've done? Or will you bring me back and hope that the Hokage will forgive me and allow me to join the village again?"

"You know that probably won't happen, Sasuke," his friend said back, still standing.

"I know. You will kill me." It wasn't a question as it was a simple stating of the fact. "I doubt that many in the village will mourn my passing, probably just Sakura and a few die-hard Fangirls."

There was a small scowl on the blonde's face. "Did you just call Sakura a Fangirl?"

He couldn't help but roll his eyes at that. "I said Sakura _and_ a few die-hard Fangirls," he repeated himself. "Sakura is a kunoichi, now more than ever. There is a bit of difference, like the fact that she could and would punch those Fangirls into next year."

"Yeah, she can do that. I would know well enough." They shared a small chuckle at that, remembering better days.

But it wouldn't last. "It's past time this ended, Naruto. Just kill me." He took a breath and closed his eyes. "I am ready."

He waited in his personal darkness for the killing strike, for it to finally end. But instead, all he heard from Naruto was one word. "No."

He opened his eyes again. "What?"

"I said no." He reached down and pulled Sasuke up onto his feet. "I'm not going to kill you, Sasuke."

"You have to."

"No, I don't. You're my friend, Sasuke," he declared, clasping his other hand on his friend's shoulder. "Why would I want to kill my best friend?"

"It's not a matter of 'want to', but 'have to'. I am a criminal, Naruto. You can't just sweep that under the rug and pretend that it never existed."

"I'm not going to do that either."

"Then what are you going to do to me?" He couldn't help but ask the question with curiosity in his voice (as well as a small amount of fire).

"I won't do anything to you, Sasuke." He removed his hands. "But you will leave."

It was almost like he had spoken in a different language. "Leave?"

The blonde nodded. "I'm giving you this one chance to leave the Elemental Nations, for your own safety. Leave now so you can live. You know that the others won't be so merciful." He turned around and walked back across the river. "Goodbye, Sasuke."

He said nothing; he just followed the course of the river.

* * *

He came awake with no failing out of his sleep or shouting in panic, surprise, or fear. In fact, he opened his eyes silently and stood up from where he laid in silence. This wouldn't be the first time he had this dream since coming to Middle-Earth and he knew what followed afterwards.

He would follow the river until it emptied out into the sea. He did not know what country that had been in and he did not care. All he had cared about was that no one knew who he was there and that there was an Akatsuki hideout in there. He patched his wounds there and rested for a day.

As he rested, he was tempted to ignore what Naruto had all but ordered him to do and stay in the Elemental Nations. But he also knew that what the blonde had said was true, the other villages (and even Konoha probably) wouldn't hesitate to hunt him down. So the next day, after grabbing enough supplies to last him for a while and grabbing a cloak of the Akatsuki and a straw hat, he went down to the docks.

He was lucky in the fact that the first ship that he went to was in fact sailing out that day. He got himself passage and was in a comfortable bunk when the ship left the harbor and headed for Middle-Earth (though he didn't know that yet). It was on that ship that Sasuke figured out that when Naruto had grabbed his hand and clasped his shoulder, he sealed the power given to him by the Rikudō Sennin.

The ship made port in what he later knew as they Grey Havens, but he didn't stay there long enough for people to see him (which was why he only found out about Elves later). Once he was out and in the wilds, he decided to wander.

And even though he wandered, that dream still came to him. Sometimes, he briefly wondered why that was. But those moments were fleeting and he didn't pay them much heed. He was gone from the Elemental Nations and it wasn't likely he would return.

He looked around and saw that the rest of the Fellowship was still sleeping. The only exception was Frodo, for he wasn't there. _"Where did that hobbit get off to?"_ he asked himself before leaving to find out. He was able to go look mostly due to the fact that he could never go back to sleep after having that dream.

He wandered away from the area where the Fellowship slept and into Lothlórien itself. The voices were still singing and because there was no one else around, it made them feel even more haunting. At night, the woods could not have been more different from Konoha. The nightlife in Konoha was loud, boisterous, and full of good things for friends who want to hang out. Here, there was no nightlife and it gave the place an ethereal quality that was also somewhat chilling.

As he wandered, he couldn't help but think of that dream. What unnerved him about it every time he had it was not how he was so close to death and yet was given life or the choice Naruto made. No, what unnerved him the most was the look he had seen in the blonde's eyes as he had spoken. No matter how many times he had tried to mentally erase it, that damn look still kept appearing in his mind. It was the look that said, "No matter what you do or what people will say of you, you're still my best friend and I believe in you."

How many times had he let that idiot blonde down with his belief? And yet, he stills believes in him? It was like Kami was playing a bad joke with him and he didn't it funny. But still, he could always see those eyes and when he did, he felt…afraid.

The sound of footsteps that weren't his own walking on the grass snapped him out of his thoughts and back into the woods where he was. Frodo was walking his way with a slightly scared look on his face. For some reason he couldn't figure out, he hid himself and let the hobbit pass by.

"_Why did I just do that?"_ he asked himself as he pulled himself out of the hiding spot. He didn't know and it irked him. Another set of footsteps, sounding incredibly light, echoed through the silence of Lothlórien. He turned to see Galadriel walking away from him, casting a look back at him.

Not fully knowing why, he followed her. He didn't run to catch up with her; he instead kept his distance and always made sure that she was within eyesight. His following her led him to a wall of rocks that, at first appearance, had no entrance. But as he followed and saw how she entered, he realized that it was only a matter of perception. Once he changed that perception (by stepping to the left), he could see the entrance and entered it.

The passage beyond led to something that surprised him a lot: a rock garden. He hadn't seen one in ten years. What's more, this garden was beautifully done. No amateur had made it. The flow in the rocks was subtle and changed course before you even recognized that it had. The plants in and around the garden were the perfect choice for it. Whoever had done this was very talented and had good taste.

She was standing at the edge of the garden, looking at it all. When he stepped forward, she turned to him and smiled gently. "Welcome, Uchiha Sasuke," she greeted him in perfect Elemental.

He was a little surprised by hearing that speech. "How do you know the language of the Elemental Nations?" he demanded, replying in the same tongue.

"You taught it to me, a long time ago."

"I've never met you until tonight."

"But you have. As I said, I know you from before."

"What does that even mean? I don't know you!" He looked away from and stared intently at the garden. "And stop looking at me with those eyes; you have no right to do so."

"What right would that be?" There was no hostility in her voice from being told what to do. She sounded just as serene and calm as before. In fact, there was a small note of curiosity in her voice.

But he didn't answer her. Instead, he turned his gaze upward to the tree. "What exactly is the point you're trying to make here, Kami?" he asked aloud, not caring that there was another person with him. "You send me Naruto when he was a kid in the form of Pippin, then you send me my friendship in the form of Gimli and Legolas, and now you send me his trust in me in the form of her? When is this sick joke of yours going to end!?" he demanded, the clasp he had over his emotions breaking ever so slightly.

He got no answer from above. But he did get one from Galadriel. "Whatever the One has decided to grant you, it is never a joke."

He turned to look at her. "It certainly feels like that to me." He looked away again. She still had that look in her eyes. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

"I cannot enjoy the company of an old friend?" she asked him, that note of curiosity still there.

"I already told you, I've never met you."

"And I have told you twice before, I know you from before." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her smile. "It is good to see you again, Indra."

He went still at those words. Truth be told, he shouldn't have be surprised by her words. If the Lord of Rivendell had known his ancestor, why wouldn't she? But there was still one thing to question. "How do you know I am him?" he asked, finally looking at her (but still avoiding the eyes).

"You carry yourself in the same manner he did: quiet, yet proud. And there is also the obvious." She gestured to his left arm. "You carry the same mark." A slight frown appeared on her face. "But I have never seen it covered so."

He shifted slightly, he wasn't sure why. "It was sealed," he said shortly. "How well did you know him?"

The frown disappeared and a slightly sad smile formed on her lips. "If I had been a younger elf and not married when I met him, I would've gladly become mortal for him."

"_So, that well,"_ he thought to himself. It also explained why she had that look in her eyes. In a sense, she did have the right (but that didn't mean he liked it). "Is there a particular reason why we are talking here, in a rock garden?" He gestured to the garden to emphasize his point.

"He taught me how to make one and this was the result. Do you like it?"

"It's well done, from what I can tell." He wasn't a gardener. That had been Naruto (which came as a surprise to him and Sakura found out about that fact and the little greenhouse he had). "But that's not why you led me here."

"No, it is not." She looked him in the eyes and he found that he could not look away. "Do you know why you carry that mark and why you have followed the footsteps of your ancestors to this land?"

Of course he knew why he carried the mark of a dark moon on his hand. "It was given to me by the Rikudō Sennin, Indra's father. As for following my ancestors, I just took the ship that was sailing away from the Elemental Nations. There was no following."

"So you would believe, but you are here. As for your being given it, that is not so. Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo merely activated it inside of you."

"That's impossible. He carried both and gave them both away." He remembered what happened in that meeting quite clearly.

"Perhaps, the beginning of the tale would be a better place to explain."

He couldn't help but snort at that. "I know what happened at the beginning. The question is: do you?"

She only smiled and shook her head slightly. "No, the question is: what do you think is the beginning?"

"The Rikudō Sennin and his brother defeated their mother and sealed her chakra and her body away in different forms. The chakra into him and the body was made into the moon."

"That is where you are wrong. The moon had existed long before the battle. Tilion, the Maia who was given charge of the moon, knew them well and had agreed to place the body inside the moon. But this is not the beginning I speak of. I speak of the beginning of their mother, the one you know as Ōtsutsuki Kaguya." She looked like she was trying to find something in his eyes. "Did you ever wonder where she had come from?"

"No. All I ever needed to know was how mad and dangerous she was," he answered.

"Then let me tell you of her so that you may understand what happened."

He was silent for a moment. "…Fine," he finally answered.

"It began in the end days of the First Age, where the first Dark Lord was all but victorious in his conquest of Middle-Earth. One day, a woman was found at the steps leading to his fortress of Angband. Thinking of Lúthien and Beren and believing that another had come to take the remaining Silmarils from, he went to the steps to attack. But he discovered that the woman there was not of the Elves but rather Men. And she had not come to steal the Silmarils, for she was heavy with child and had been trying to seek safety but knew she would not find it.

"The Dark Lord found her on the steps, crying as she looked up at the stars. He demanded to know why she was crying. 'I am sad and scared,' she answered. 'I will not see the next sunrise and my child will not see its first.'

"'If that is your sadness, what is your fear' he demanded.

"'I am dying, but I do not know what is beyond death. I have no wish to take my child with me into that unknown abyss.'

"The Dark Lord was unconcerned by these words. 'Such is the Gift of Men.'

"'But such a gift should not be given to a babe just born.' She gasped in pain as she began to give birth. Her labor was long and hard, for she had no one to help her and the Dark Lord did not know what to do. But when she was done, she held a child in her arms, a daughter. 'Please, if you can, save her,' she begged.

"'Do you know who I am?' he asked with poisonous amusement in his voice.

"She nodded. 'Yes, you are Morgoth, the Dark Lord who threatens all.'

"'Then why ask me to save your child when I could easily kill both of you right now?'

"'Who else can I ask at this moment? If it means that my child will live a long life instead of dying soon after being born, I will gladly ask for your help.' With those last words, the woman died.

"The Dark Lord look down at the dead woman and the child she held in her grasp. He took the child from her and held it in his great hand. It was a weakly child who did not have the strength to cry out anymore. But in its eyes, there was nothing but curiosity and trust for him, even though the rest of the world shunned and hated him. In a moment of compassion he hadn't had since he turned from Eru, he imparted some of his essence onto her.

"She survived it, her black hair turning red, and became much more healthier. He named her Bariel, for the color of her hair, and took her back into Angband to rise as his daughter. For forty years he raised her, teaching her about life and its choices. She proved to be an apt student and learned well. But when the tides turned against him in the War of Wrath, he sent her away."

She went silent, which prompted him to speak. "And then what happened?"

Before she answered, a scream pierced the night. They both turned to the entrance of the garden where the scream had come from. Galadriel left first and he followed after her. Their quick pace led to them a group of elves encircling something. "My lady, I'm sorry," one of the elves said when he saw the Lady of Light approach. "He broke himself free again."

"It is alright, I will speak to him," she said, walking forward into the circle. Sasuke followed so he could a good look at what was going on. What he saw was a youngish-looking elf (it was a little hard to tell sometimes) on the ground rocking back and forth with his hands covering his head. "Hinnoron, it is alright. The Tainted is not here."

"He was calling me," the elf on the ground muttered as he rocked. "He was calling me. I could hear him; I could hear him calling out for me to come."

"Did you break free so you could to him?" Her tone was gentle, but there was an audible not of disappointment in it as well.

"No!" he shouted, rocking faster than before. "No! I broke free so I could run _away_ from him, I promise! If I stayed, he would've come. I had to run away! I'm sorry."

She smiled and stopped his rocking with her hands. "I'm glad to hear that from you. You are amongst friends, Hinnoron. Stand on your own two feet."

She removed her hands and stepped. After a moment, the elf on the ground stood up and looked at the crowd surrounding him. When Sasuke saw the elf standing before him, his eyes widened in shock and surprise. With no warning to anyone else, he walked out of the crowd, towards the elf, and grabbed him by the chin to look more closely at him. What he saw was still there even when he looked more closely. "That shouldn't be possible!" he declared, but it was still there.

* * *

The Fellowship came awake in the morning, finding that food had been set out for them. No one said a word as they ate, but they had all noticed the same thing: where was Sasuke? The person in question soon appeared in the camp. "Where have you been, lad?" Gimli asked him.

"Around," he said shortly before looking at the Ranger amongst them. "Aragorn, we're going to stay here a while. Two weeks, a month at the most."

That got a surprise out of everyone there. "Why are we doing that?" Pippin asked.

"So I can give him a quick study on how to be a shinobi." He pointed his thumb at the elf who stood behind and to the side of him. So focused had the Fellowship been on him that they didn't realize the elf was there until he was pointed out. The elf looked young, not quite a child but not quite an adult. His hair was shorter than other elves and its ends were black as a raven.

"Who is he?" Legolas asked, looking at the other elf. Even though he had never seen him before, there was something familiar about him. The elf prince just couldn't place it.

"The elves here call him Hinnoron and he is the son of Madara. As of now, he is my student."

The entire Fellowship was stunned into silence at those words, for they could not believe it. "Durin's Beard!" swore Gimli, still stunned.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

Odds are that some of you are going to be annoyed that I put in a song, but we are talking about the Lord of the Rings here. Songs and poems are practically everywhere there. And don't tell me that song wasn't appropriate, it was.

Kaguya's history and what happened with her sons will be explained later on in the story. I thought it was a nice twist to have her be raised by Morgoth. It's certainly something you wouldn't have seen coming.

Don't start bugging me about what happened after Sasuke said it wasn't possible or who the Tainted is (although, those of you who played the strategy game will know), it will be explained in the next chapter.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	8. A sensei and his student

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 8: A sensei and his student

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Lothlórien)

Sasuke only watched in silence as his student (who was, ironically, older than him) kept running higher and higher up the tree. Apparently, he already had a vague notion of how to do it before but never properly utilized it. The closest he had gotten was running on all fours and it more climbing then running. Thus, he was doing this exercise.

When Sasuke had told him what he was going to do, he held out a knife and told him to scratch a mark on the trunk each time he reached his zenith. But after he got all the glares from the elves surrounding him for the remark, he put away the knife and held out a small pot of ink instead. That got the glares off his back and got his student to running.

Speaking of his student, he leapt off of the tree and landed back on the ground. He was panting heavily and looked like he was going to stop. "You are not done, Izuna," he told his student (the elves might've called him Hinnoron, but Sasuke had been told that his name was Izuna and that was what he was going to be called). "Keep going."

"Yes, Sasuke-sensei," he replied, having been told to call his teacher that on the first day alone. He went right back up the tree.

"How's the training coming, lad?" Gimli asked Sasuke when he walked by and took a look, stopping in his pace. "And why do you have him running up trees? I know he's half an elf, but still."

"Being half an elf has nothing to do with him running up a tree," he answered as he watched his student leap off, land on the ground, and run at the tree with a shout. "He's building up stamina and leg muscle while also figuring out to how to properly channel his charka into his feet."

"And what would that do for him?" The dwarf understood the part about stamina and muscle but it was the last part that made him slightly confused.

"For one, allow him to walk up any vertical surface and hang from any ceiling."

"Ah, I see." He fell silent for a moment and then spoke again. "I'll be honest with you, Sasuke. I still have a hard time believing that he's the son of Madara."

"I can assure you, he is." He had gotten the information from a reliable source.

(Flashback)

"This should not be possible!" he told Galadriel once they were alone again. The elf he had just seen only fifteen minutes ago (who had fallen into unconsciousness and was taken away) had the **Sharingan** blazing in both of his eyes, which meant he had been sired by an Uchiha. And since Sasuke was the last Uchiha, he should not exist.

"But it is," Galadriel told him, showing no concern for his outburst. "You saw it with your own eyes. It is the truth."

"How?" he demanded. "How is possible then?"

"You of all people in this world should know the answer. You are his sire."

If he had been Naruto, that would've been the moment he would've started protesting loudly against that sentence, trying to point out how he couldn't have been the elf's father, stumbling over his words in the process. But since he wasn't that blonde idiot, he didn't do that.

Instead, he thought it over, remembering what he had heard and what he was told. "He's yours?" he finally asked, having seemingly connected the dots.

She laughed slightly and shook her head in the negative. "No, his father wasn't Indra, but Madara, who came to Lothlórien after leaving Erebor."

"I'm assuming there's a story to this?"

"A small one," she admitted.

"…Would you mind telling me what it is?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"He came to the woods and lived on the outskirts for a few months as a hermit. There were a few elves who were concerned that he would be a problem, but he had done nothing so my husband and I allowed nothing to happen to him. That all changed after he lived for two months."

"Who did he attack and kill?" Considering he had met and fought Madara, he knew that he probably would've done something like that.

"A group of orcs who had kidnapped my handmaiden, Gilrin," Galadriel answered, honestly surprising him. "He took to his place, treated her wounds, and then brought her back to Caras Galadhon." She looked at him after those words were said. "You are surprised to hear that."

"Yes, I am." The Madara he had known and fought against wouldn't have bothered with trying to save someone. He might've fought against the orcs, but he would not have saved anyone. _"Well, he was younger then,"_ he admitted to himself.

"Regardless of your surprise, he did save her and he did bring her back. When I saw him, I knew at once he was but said nothing. Once he had brought to safety, he left and went back to where he was living. But Gilrin would not leave him be. She would go back to him again and again.

"What happened in those visits, we never learned of. Gilrin had insisted all they did was talk to each other of trivial things and we took her word. But soon, he had disappeared from Lothlórien and she was carrying his child, who she named Izuna in honor of his sire's brother."

"And that was the end of it?"

"No, he did reappear one time in later years. It was during the night and only Gilrin had seen him, but he had laid eyes on his son."

That answered that question, but now there was the other one. "Who or what is the Tainted?" When he asked the question, he felt the air around him become a little more colder.

Galadriel answered him in a soft voice. "He is one of the Nazgûl and by far, the most foul of them, save for their leader. Do you know of his origins?"

"Until I held off all nine of them to let Frodo get to Rivendell, I did not know what a Nazgûl was; let alone who each one had been."

"The Nazgûl were once kings of Men before Sauron gave them nine Rings of Power. After using them time and time again, they fell into darkness and became the Ringwraiths. But the only one who did not fall slowly was the king who would become known as the Tainted. He gave himself to Sauron, completely and utterly of his own choice. Thus he became an abomination to all things created by Eru."

"What interest does he have in Izuna?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Whatever interest he has is the interest of the Enemy," she correcting him.

"Then what interest does Sauron have in him?"

"We do not know that. All we do know is that when they had left the safety of Lothlórien in a company of elves for Rivendell, they were ambushed by a large party of orcs and the Tainted took Gilrin away in front of Izuna when he was but a child. From that time on, it has haunted his dreams ever since, always calling to him."

"_If that's what happened when he was a child, it's no wonder that he activated the __**Sharingan**__,"_ Sasuke thought to himself. Did Sauron know that would happen if Izuna's mother was kidnapped right in front of his eyes? "Did you ever make an attempt to get her back?"

"Yes, in the early days. But we never found where they had taken her. We became more focused on ensuring her son did not find his way into the hands of the Tainted and of Sauron."

"By locking him up," he stated, having seen where they had taken the son of Madara.

To her credit, the Lady of the Wood did look guilty at those words. "I am not proud of our methods, but they've kept relatively him safe. In all his attempts to either run to or from the Tainted, he has never gotten out of Lothlórien."

He frowned, remembering something. "Has his **Sharingan** stayed active all these years?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "No, it has come and gone. Its appearance has meant that the Tainted has tried to make him come to him."

Silence fell between the two of them and it stretched on for a long moment or two. It wasn't an awkward silence nor was it a troubled silence. It was just silence. Then Sasuke broke it. "Are you going to keep him locked away for the rest of life?"

"What else can be done for his safety? We have thought hard but never has a solution showed itself to us."

He withheld the urge to roll his eyes. It was so bloody obvious. "There is a solution: train him to fight."

"And who would train him?" she asked him with a small smile.

When he saw that smile he knew he had been caught. _"Kami take it,"_ he swore to himself. She knew that was a solution and had been leading him to it the entire time. By showing him Izuna, then telling him of his parentage and what happened to his mother, she had made him care a little about what would happen to him.

He didn't like being led around by the nose like that; it had happened to him one too many times before. On the other hand, he had found that he wasn't the last Uchiha anymore. Had it been any other (and he a different kind of person), it would've been cause for celebration. He wasn't the kind of person to celebrate like that, but he would be damned before letting a chance like this to pass him by.

"You're looking at him," he declared.

* * *

As the sun was slowly rising over the woods, the son of Madara was brought before him and Galadriel. "What is going on, my Lady?" Izuna asked Galadriel, his normal eyes darted around the area they were standing in, a flet that looked over a stream. The guards that had brought him had gone back down the steps in order to give some semblance of privacy. "Is this about what happened last night?"

"Of sorts," she answered.

He began to look very nervous. "I'm sorry, my Lady. I know I should've stayed, but he was there in my head. He was calling to him!"

"I know, Hinnoron, I know. I am glad to know that this time, you wanted to run. I do wish to think of the times he had made you want to come to him."

He looked down at the wooden floor of the flet. "I'm sorry those times had happened, but he was so…convincing."

"So you have said many times before, but this is not what you've been brought here for." She turned her head to the only Man there with them. "Do you know who he is?"

He lifted his head and looked closer at the Man. "He was the one who looked at my face last night, wasn't he?" he asked Galadriel, who nodded once in acknowledgement. "But there's something…familiar about him." He looked closely for another minute or so and then his eyes went wide with surprise and hope. "Father, is that you?"

"No," Sasuke told him shortly. "I am not Uchiha Madara."

"Oh," he said, the hope vanishing from his face. "I'm sorry."

"You apologize too much, stop it," Crabandir ordered him.

That had surprised him. "I'm sorry?"

"What did I just tell you?"

Not sure what was going on, he looked over Galadriel. "My Lady, what is happening here?"

"You were wrong in only one part, Izuna," she told him. "This is not Uchiha Madara, he is Uchiha Sasuke and he will be teaching you from now on."

"Teaching me?" he repeated. "Teaching me what?"

"For starters, how to properly activate, deactivate, and utilize these," Sasuke answered, his own **Sharingan** blazing his eyes.

Izuna gasped in surprise and took a step back when he saw those eyes. His own **Sharingan** involuntarily activated when he saw them. "How is this…I, I thought…" he tried to form a complete sentence but was having difficulty finding the right words.

"You thought that because of what happened, you were the only one who had them and you probably thought it was because the Tainted gave them to you, correct?"

"I…yes," he finally admitted. That was exactly what he thought it was. He had thought that his eyes had become the eyes of a demon for what had happened.

"They aren't," Sasuke told him. "They are a part of your lineage and I'm going to make sure that you are, at the very least, competent with them."

"Really?" he asked as a hopeful tone in his voice appeared again.

The other Uchiha nodded. "From now on, you are to call me sensei, which means teacher in the language of your father. You are my student and you will learn."

(End Flashback)

It was his first time being the teacher instead of the student. He didn't know if he was nervous about being one or not. Quite frankly, he didn't have the time to figure it out. There was only so much time that could be spent keeping the Fellowship waiting in Lothlórien while he trained Izuna.

Thankfully, he had kept to his promise and taught his student how to properly use the **Sharingan**. Once that was out of the way, he could focus on training his student in the other parts of being a shinobi. He used the same method Kakashi had used on him during the training period of the Chūnin Exams to speed up the process.

It worked and Izuna was taking in all that he could. If Sasuke had to describe how his student learned, he would have to say that he was a strange mixture of himself and Naruto. It would take him a few times to understand an explanation of something, but once he started practicing it he got it.

He didn't show an interest in using a sword, preferring to handle a stave weapon. Having only learned the basic moves in the course of his training with Orochimaru (who had been insistent on that he learn a measure of everything), Sasuke showed him those moves. In this regard, he was more like his sensei, understanding them instantly and using them perfectly. In fact, he had done so well with the movements of a staff that he had begun to go further and figure out how to make his own movements.

After seeing how his student had progressed with the staff in a matter of days, Sasuke decided to take it another step further and taught him how to use a spear, which was a little different than the staff but not by much (the only real difference was the sharpened piece of metal at the end). Izuna took to that just as well as he had the staff.

But there were some things he had difficulty with. The most prominent of them was his control over his chakra. Despite being able to activate and deactivate the **Sharingan**, Izuna's chakra control could barely be even called that. It had taken them quite a few days to get into any semblance of control, which was one of the reasons his student was running up and down trees. It had gotten better, but not by a great amount.

"Well lad, I didn't come here just to talk to you about how his training is coming," Gimli declared, breaking Sasuke out of his thoughts.

"Then why did you come here?"

"To let you know that lunch has been made and the hobbits have made it."

"_Hmm, interesting,"_ he thought. Ever since they had entered Lothlórien and been found by the elves, food had been prepared for them. _"I wonder which one of the four wore the elves down enough to convince them to let them cook."_ If he had to make a wager, he would say Merry and/or Pippin, with the stronger bet on Pippin.

The sound of someone leaping off of something filled their ears for a moment. When they looked up, they saw Izuna coming back down to the ground. He landed easily on his feet, falling into a roll and then jumping out of it. He was ready to run again when his sensei spoke. "Stop, Izuna," Sasuke ordered.

He went still and the other Uchiha examined how far he went up today. It was a good amount, much more so then the previous attempts. He had managed to get a quarter of the way up the tree, and considering the height of said tree (which was one of the taller ones in the woods) it was a moderately impressive attempt. Of course the time it took for him to get that far up could be improved.

"Not bad," he finally said. "But you can be better. It took you longer than it should to have to get that far up."

"Don't be too harsh on the lad, Sasuke," the dwarf amongst them told him. "It is a giant tree and he did get far. You can't fault him for that."

"I'm not. I'm faulting him for his timing. If he had better control over his chakra, he wouldn't waste precious seconds making sure that he was still attached to the tree."

"How is this control you speak of so important? I doubt anyone could get farther that tree in the same amount of time."

He gave the dwarf a look. Without saying another word, he sprinted at the tree and once he had his feet on it, ran straight up it. To the people who were standing before the tree and looking at it, he had disappeared from sight leaving only a thin trail of smoke behind him. And before they could say anything, he had reappeared again and landed on the ground. "Does that answer your question?" he asked Gimli.

The dwarf was silent for a long moment, staring at the shinobi with his mouth agape. Then he closed it and asked the first question that came to him. "How far did you go up?"

"All the way to the top in the same time it took Izuna to get up a quarter of the length. And I was going slowly." He looked over at Izuna. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sasuke-sensei," his student answered. "I'm ready to go again." He slipped into the stance he had been taught to use to start off running.

"That's not happening. We're done here." He turned around and walked away from the tree. Gimli, Izuna, and the few elves that were stationed nearby to ensure nothing happened to the half-elf followed him.

It was only a short walk back to where the Fellowship had made camp. A fire was going and the Fellowship sat around it. "Welcome back!" Sam said to them as they came near the fire.

"How's the food coming?" Gimli asked as they sat down.

"It's coming along nicely, Mr. Gimli. You'll only have to wait another minute or so."

"That's nice. I am certainly hungry," Izuna declared as he sat down next to his sensei. After their initial meeting, Sasuke had his student meet the Fellowship several more times. Once he had gotten to know them more and more, it became easier for him to talk to them.

"How goes the training?" Legolas asked Sasuke.

"It goes," he answered shortly.

"You must give us more than that, Sasuke," Boromir told him. "If Izuna is to join us on our quest, we must know how far he has come in his training."

"I would like to think that I am doing well," Izuna began to offer.

"You are the student," his sensei told him shortly. "You would think that when you have no concept of how you're actually doing."

"Then how am I doing, sensei?"

He was silent for a moment. "Better in some areas, not as well as I had hoped in the others," he finally answered.

"You cannot fault him for that," Aragorn told him.

"Aragorn is right," Boromir agreed. "No warrior is perfect."

"_I know a few people who would gladly disagree with that statement,"_ the shinobi thought to himself. He would know, he had fought those people and rid them of that belief. "I am aware of that, Boromir," he said aloud. "And I am not expecting Izuna to be perfect. But if he does not get better in those areas, he is liable to end up dead."

"And you've put him through several hard tasks already, Sasuke," Gimli said. "The lad is doing well. That tree climbing thing he was doing looked to be quite difficult indeed, until you did it."

"That's because my sensei taught it to me when I was twelve," he answered. "And I had it mastered within the space of a few days." He neglected to mention the fact that Naruto had been there to spur him on. He still wasn't keen on the idea of letting others know about his past and he was also aware of the fact that it wouldn't help Izuna.

"I am ready to run up that tree any time you command me to, sensei," Izuna declared. His eyes shined with determination as he looked at his younger kin.

"I fear you will have to wait on that, Mr. Izuna," Sam told him.

"Why is that?" he asked the hobbit, swinging his attention to him.

"Because the food is done," he answered. He looked at the rest of the Fellowship. "Alright, grab your plates and stand ready to be served. And remember, there's enough to go around for seconds and more."

The Fellowship waited their turns to be served before tucking in to the food. It was good food, no one could deny that. In all honesty, it felt like a long time since the Fellowship had had a decent meal like this. The last one they could remember was one time before the Crebain had spotted them. It had a quick lunch, but it felt the same.

Not wanting to think of that, they focused their attention on the food. As stated before, it was good food (but when was food made by a hobbit anything but good?). There were meats and vegetables aplenty and there was more than enough for more, like Sam had said.

"This is good!" Izuna exclaimed as he ate the food on his plate.

"I'm glad you enjoy it," Sam said, looking a little embarrassed and shy at the words of praise.

"Enjoy it? If I was a cook, I would ask for the recipe!"

"The same goes for me, Master Gamgee," Gimli told the hobbit. "But perhaps I can pass on a few to Bombur. I believe you would be proud if he declared that he liked your meals."

Those words just made him feel even more embarrassed. "There's nothing special about it. It's just a good cooked meal."

"You would be surprised how rare that is sometimes," Sasuke told him. The raven-haired shinobi could easily remember the times in his wanderings when he had to suffice with one meal a day. One of the worse ones was when he had to pace a stale loaf of beard out so it could last him two weeks.

"Aye, Sasuke has the right of it," Boromir agreed. He could remember the times when, in the defense of Gondor, food had been scarce for him and his men.

Aragorn had said nothing, but he silently agreed. He had some lean times as well when he was just simply a Ranger. Sure, he was able to track and hunt down food to eat, but even then there were times when there was no prey to hunt.

Embarrassment left Sam when he heard those words. Instead, he was now filled with shame. "I am sorry," he told them. "This must seem like a waste of food to you."

"Sam, are we complaining about how the food tastes?" Aragorn asked him.

"No."

"Are we berating you for cooking so much food?"

'No."

"Are we even suggesting ways to make the food taste better?"

That question drew some small looks of outrage from the hobbits, because not once in the entire reckoning of the Shire had one of the Big Folk ever suggested a way to make food cooked by a hobbit better. The very idea was insulting. "No, you are not."

"Then it is not a waste. We enjoy this food and we enjoy the company in which we are having this food."

"Perhaps with the exception of them," Sasuke commented, looking at the elves that stood guard nearby.

"You are welcomed to join us if you so desire," Frodo told the guards.

The leader of the guards shook his head. "We are glad you are concerned for us, Master Baggins. But we have eaten before we came on duty."

"That's a pity," Merry commented as he chewed on a sausage. "You are missing on some good food here."

"And the company's excellent," Pippin added.

"We can see. But nevertheless, we will stay on duty."

"Very well, as you wish. Merry, pass me a sausage."

"Me as well, please," Izuna asked. While he did enjoy the greens the lunch had, he greatly enjoyed the meat that was there. There were so many different kinds of meats in front of him. He wanted to eat them all at the same time, but his sensei would not have approved. He was always told to never rush into anything. He wasn't sure if that included food, but he wasn't going to risk it.

"I will take one too," the sensei in question said.

"Hold on, I will get to each of you," Merry told them all.

Sasuke waited in silence as he got his sausage. Once he got it, he took it onto his fork and bit off a piece of it. As he chewed slowly, he looked at the rest of the Fellowship. In spite of the danger that surrounded them and their quest, it did not seem like it at that moment.

Instead, it felt like a group of friends sitting around a fire, enjoying a meal and the company of each other. It was a relaxing feeling and if he was being honest with himself, he could barely remember the last time he had that kind of feeling. What he could remember was it was a dinner with his father, mother, and…Itachi. Kami, he must've been five or six when it happened. Had it been that long since he felt like that? _"No, that's not true,"_ he silently admitted. _"There was always Team 7."_ There were a few moments with Team 7 that had that kind of feeling, but they were there.

When the food was done, they were not. Instead, they put their plates down and relaxed. "By the beard of my father, that was a good meal," Gimli declared, patting his belly. "I don't think that I've had so many servings of delicious food that kept changing and still stayed delicious."

"I feel the same," Legolas agreed with the dwarf.

"I think we can all agree that we are very stuffed," Pippin declared. "Very nice cooking there, Sam," he said to the hobbit.

"Thank you, Pip," Sam said in reply as he made sure that all the food had not been wasted. Once he was done, he sat back. "Do you know what would make right even better than it is now?"

"Some of the leaf?" asked Merry, holding a small pouch in his hand.

"Exactly that," he answered. All four of the hobbits, as well as Aragorn and Gimli, pulled out their pipes, took some of the leaf, and began to smoke it.

"Try not to set anything on fire," Sasuke said to them with a small smile on his lips as he watched them smoke. They were in the middle of an elvish land and he had yet to see an elf smoke a pipe. Plus, he was fairly certain that the elves would the trees or grass set ablaze because of their actions.

"He's talking to you, Pippin," Merry told the Took.

"I'll have you know, Merry, that I am quite well-handled with a pipe," he replied, sounding very offended by his friend's words. "And if I remember correctly, I was not the one who set fire to that parlor room because he sneezed with a pipe in his mouth."

"You were the one who said it would be fine to smoke a pipe inside your mother's parlor!"

"And the two of you wonder why the rest of the Shire gets nervous when you find the fireworks whenever Gandalf came," Frodo remarked with a slight smile on his face.

The hobbits shared a laugh at that, remembering what had happened at Bilbo's birthday party. The laughter soon became bittersweet and died away when they remembered that the Wizard who brought those fireworks had fallen into the abyss in Moria.

The rest of the Fellowship fell silent as they too remembered what happened to Gandalf. It brought a fresh stab of pain and sorrow to them all, especially Sasuke. The shinobi looked down at his right hand. When it had healed and the bandage had come off, he had been right in the fact that the wound would scar, taking the appearance of a white star.

Their sadness was broken when Izuna coughed quietly, getting their attention. "I don't suppose…you have another one of those pipes?" he asked Sam, feeling nervous as he spoke.

They all looked at him with surprise in their eyes. "You…wish to try one of these?" Sam asked, jiggling his pipe a little to emphasize his point.

He nodded. "Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"If the lad wants a pipe, give him a pipe," Gimli ordered gruffly. But he was curious, deep down. He had never seen an elf take to the pipe, so he wanted to see what would happen.

Sam took out a spare pipe and handed it to the half-elf. He took it and held it gingerly in his grasp, like it was made of glass and would shattered if he held it wrong. He still held that grip when he was shown how to proper set the leaf and light the fire.

Sasuke watched in amusement as his student took his first inhale and began to cough. The hobbits laughed as they watched this happen. Once Izuna was done coughing, they began to give him advice on how to properly smoke. He took their advice and began smoking the pipe once more. To his surprise, he found that he liked it.

* * *

"Sensei, why do you never speak of your home?" Izuna asked Sasuke as they sat on the bank of a lake.

The guards who had been assigned to them had finally been relieved of their orders, which Sasuke found a relief for (they had been annoying). Since they were gone, he could try and focus his student on the mental aspects. They were trying to do that by meditating and the way he figured it, peaceful scenery would help it, hence, why they were in front of a lake.

But it seemed like his student wasn't even trying to meditate. "Why do you ask?" he asked Izuna while still trying to meditate, keeping his eyes closed.

"I was thinking about the lunch we had with the Fellowship a few days back, about they were talking about where they had come from. And I noticed that you hadn't spoken."

"That's because I don't have a home." Not anymore, he didn't.

"But you must've. You must've come from somewhere."

Finally, he opened his eyes and looked at his student. "Why do you even care, Izuna?"

His student looked away from his gaze, not being able to hold it. "I…I always wanted to know where my father came from. I used to imagine what it would be like there. And I always thought that I might just be accepted there." He laughed a little laugh. "I even wrote a small song about that feeling. You'd probably think it would be silly."

He was silent as he listened, and then he spoke. "Have I heard this song before?"

Izuna looked a little surprised by the question, obviously not thinking that his sensei would care about what he had been saying. The only actual person who had done that for him was Lady Galadriel. "No," he said.

"Then how would I know if it's silly?"

"Well…would you mind if I sang it?"

"If it gets you to stop this kind of questioning and focus on meditating, yes," Sasuke told him. He took a deep breath and began.

(Start I can go the distance)

I have often dreamed,  
Of a far off place,  
Where a great warm welcome,  
Will be waiting for me.

Where the crowds will cheer,  
When they see my face,  
And a voice keeps saying,  
'This is where I'm meant to be'.

I will find my way,  
I can go the distance,  
I'll be there someday,  
If I can be strong,  
I know every mile,  
Will be worth my while,  
I would go most anywhere,  
to feel like I belong.

I am on my way,  
I can go the distance,  
I don't care how far,  
Somehow I'll be strong,  
I know every mile,  
Will be worth my while,  
I would go most anywhere,  
to find where I belong.

(End I can go the distance)

It was a short song, but it was not song horribly. When his student was done, he was silent for the longest moment. But he broke that silence quickly enough. "When you want to find a hobby, I would recommend your singing," he told Izuna.

"Why would I want to find a hobby?" his student asked him.

"You're trying to be a shinobi. You're going to want a hobby." He never had a hobby, he been so focused on getting revenge for his clan.

"…Did you like it?"

He nodded. "Yes. It was nice." He might've been selling it a little short, but he wasn't going to tell Izuna that. In truth, the song had reminded him of Konoha, of the people that were living there. It made him wonder if things had finally cooled off, if he could go back. Would they stare at him with open hostility in their eyes as he went down the street, cursing him for daring to show his face? Or would they greet him like he had simply been on a long mission and they were glad that he was home?

He stood up from where he sat and walked to the water's edge. "Sensei?" said Izuna.

He said nothing to his student. What he did was kneel down to the ground and place his hand in the water. Once it was submerged, he channeled his chakra through it and into the water itself. He willed the water of the lake to take the shape of the memory that was currently inside his mind. It took a minute or so, but the lake started to obey his will.

"Sensei, what's happening?" Izuna asked him, seeing that the water of the lake was beginning to act strange.

"Quiet, I'm concentrating here," he told his student, trying to keep his focus on the lake.

"On what?" his student asked again.

"If you will be patient and silent, you will find out. That's an important thing for a shinobi." Izuna caught the rebuke and stayed silent while his sensei concentrated.

The water of the lake began to rise up from what its usual level was. It was not all at once, it began in small parts. But it began to grow and grow, quickly taking shapes as the water continued to rise. But now, it was not all at once, it was more in parts, each taking a different elevation.

The son of Madara could only watch in fasciation as he watched all of this happen. His sensei was creating something, that much was obvious. But as it was still growing and building itself, he had no idea what it was or what it would become. He could only watch in fasciation as the water continued rise and form.

When it was done, he was looking at a city. But it was not like Caras Galadhon, which was the only kind of city he had known. But this city made of water did not show flets built around trees. It had buildings of various heights, lengths, and styles. He didn't know how, but the water had changed colors as well, letting him see what they truly looked like. At the back of the city was a large mountain with five heads carved into it. "Is this…your home, sensei?" he asked after getting over his shock of seeing the water-city.

"It was, once," Sasuke said shortly.

"It looks amazing." Even though the buildings were different, he could see how they connected with one another, whether with branches of trees or what looked to be lines of clothes hanging in the air (which struck him as a little odd, but he didn't say anything).

The man the elves knew as Crabandir said nothing in reply. He just kept looking at the representation of Konoha. It was a small scale of the village so all of it could be seen. He wasn't sure why he had created it. The logical side of him said that it was because Izuna would never stop bugging him about it. But the other side of him, the emotional side, said it was because on some deep level, he missed the village. Sure, he had been there after talking to the dead Hokages, but that didn't really count. That was why he created the little replica of the village before Pain had attacked.

He barely noticed when the sky above them began to darken. But he did noticed when his student began to shake where he sat. "What is it, Izuna?" he said, looking at the half-elf.

"It's here," he said in a terror-filled here.

"What's here?"

"_It's_ here," he said again, placing emphasis on the first word.

"What is here, Izuna?" his sensei repeated himself.

"It!" he said as his **Sharingan** activated as he focused on the city.

Sasuke hadn't known what he was talking about but when he saw the **Sharingan**, he knew it only meant one thing: the Tainted was trying to influence Izuna. "Where is it?" he asked his student, standing up and stepping away from the water of the lake.

"It's right there!" Izuna pointed at the middle of the water representation of Konoha.

Sasuke saw nothing there, just the city. Thinking of a way to stop this, he stopped the flow of charka to the replica, letting the water fall back down to the normal level. "Is it still there?"

"Yes! It didn't move!" How could his sensei not see it floating just above the water? Its hunched appearance was right there! Already he could feel it calling for him, beckoning him to come forward. One part want to go, another wanted to run. Unable to tear his gaze off of the Tainted, all he could down was shut his eyes tight.

Sasuke still couldn't see what his student was seeing, but he could see how said student how closed his eyes. "Don't close your eyes, Izuna," he ordered the half-elf.

"Sensei, if I open, all I will be able to see is it!" Izuna protested. He didn't want to see it. He didn't want to be tempted.

"That's what I want you to do. Now open those eyes."

He did as he was told, seeing the Tainted floating over the lake. The very water recoiled itself away from the Nazgûl, disgusted to be anywhere near it. He didn't want to be there either. He wanted to run but there was that other part of him that urged him to go. "Sensei, please help," he all but begged.

"I am helping you, Izuna," Sasuke said as he walked to his student and stood behind him. "Look at it," he told the half-elf, speaking into his ear.

"I do not want to."

"Look at it, Izuna!" he ordered his student sharply. "Do not run away from it and do not run towards it. Look at it."

"It's all I can see, sensei!"

"Good."

"How is it good?" He was afraid. He didn't want it to be good.

"Look at it, Izuna. What is it?"

Why did his sensei ask that? It was obvious. "It's the Tainted, one of the Ringwraiths."

"Why does it keep coming to you?"

"I don't know!"

"Yes, you do. Think, Izuna. Why does it keep coming to you?"

The questions were coming rapidly and he answered rapidly. "Because it wants something from me," he answered.

"What is that something?"

"I don't know!" Was it mocking him by just floating there?

"Think. How is it you came to know the Tainted?"

The answer was hard for him to say, and he said it with a voice choked full of emotion. "It was the one who took my mother."

"But why?" asked Sasuke, fueling his thoughts. "Why would it take her?"

"I don't know why, I never knew why! It just took her!"

That earned him a slap upside the head but his head did not move. He was still focused on the Tainted. He could feel it trying to get him to come to it. "Focus, Izuna!" his sensei ordered him. "I did not just spend all this time teaching you how to fight with your body. I taught you how to fight with your mind."

"What is there to fight? All it had to do to is reach out and I will be tempted to go!"

"Think! Why did it take your mother?"

"Because…because…" He was trying so hard to think of an answer but none would come. Then, out of nowhere he could think of, one came to him. "Because it wasn't trying to harm her, it was trying to harm me."

"_And now we are getting somewhere,"_ Sasuke thought to himself. But what came next had to be carefully done. "How was it harming you by taking your mother?"

"It…it wanted me to see her be taken. It wanted me to see what it could do with ease."

"That's not all, is it?"

He shook his head, his eyes still locked on the Tainted. "No…there was something else. What was it, sensei?"

"Why are you asking me? I was not there. You have to answer."

He thought hard and as he continued to look at the Nazgûl and hear his whispers in his mind, he found his answer. "It wanted me to be afraid. It wanted me to be scared for my life."

"And why did it want that?"

"Because it wanted to control me through my fear," he answered. As he kept talking, his voice started to sound stronger and his shaking was beginning to stop. "It wanted me to run into the darkness so it could have control of my very being."

"Would it have tried to use visions of your mother to taunt and haunt you in your dreams?"

"Yes…yes, it would."

"Would they have that effect on you now?"

He shook his head. "No, they wouldn't."

"What would they make you feel then?"

"I would feel…anger and…fury." He could feel those emotions grow strong inside him and they were directing themselves at the Tainted. Suddenly, he found that he could look at more than the floating Nazgûl but he kept his **Sharingan** on it.

"Why would you feel those things?" Sasuke asked.

"Because…it took my mother," he answered and when he said them, it was like he had heard them for the first time. "It took my mother. It took my mother!" He looked at the Tainted with all of his anger and fury. "_You_ _took my mother_!" he screamed for the entire lake area to hear.

To his sensei's surprise, he started folding his hands into handseals, something he had been taught (which showed in how clumsy some of the handseals were). _"Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger,"_ Sasuke counted the handseals, realizing what was about to happen and took a few steps back.

"**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu** (Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu)**!"** He breathed out a giant ball of flame at the lake, directly in the path of the floating Nazgûl. It engulfed the Tainted and when the fire ball flew further out to the lake before dissipating, the Ringwraith was gone. But he thought he heard a shriek of pain.

Once the fireball dissipated, he felt weak. Trembling, he lookedat the lake, seeing the smoke that rose from the water. "What…what did I just do?" he asked, deactivating his **Sharingan**.

"What you did was the one jutsu every Uchiha knows, and I know I didn't teach you that," Sasuke answered him. "How the hell do you know it?"

He didn't have a good answer, so he gave the only one he had. "You said it yourself, Sasuke-sensei. Every Uchiha knows it."

The sensei just stared at him for the longest time. Finally, he said one thing. "Izuna, you might be a half-elf, but you're an Uchiha to the bone."

His student smiled widely, for that had been the best compliment he had gotten so far.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me. I'm glad this story went past the triple-digit barrier.

Now you have Izuna's actual name and back history. But I'm not done with the latter yet. There's something else coming around and it'll be coming next chapter.

Okay, I've read the books and watched the movies. And not once did I see a part about an elf taking a part of the pipe. It's understandable, but still weird. And I've never seen them eat meat either.

I felt that song really fit Izuna because he is essentially a stranger in Lothlórien. And you can tell me where it came from and which version it is, I'll give you a cyber-cookie.

As to whether or not the Tainted was actually there or not, I'll leave that up to your imagination.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	9. Down the river

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 9: Down the river

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Isengard)

Saruman sat at his desk, looking over a report from one of his spies in Eriador. The report told him that they had found nine black horses strewn across a riverbank and all of them were dead. The spy had known who the horses had belonged to, but reported that there were no bodies nearby. _"Fool,"_ Saruman thought to himself as he put the report down. There were no bodies because the Nazgûl had fled.

And they had fled because of one particular person, the same man that had turned his power against him on Caradhras. According to the reports he had been receiving, this stranger from another land had been wandering around Middle-Earth for the past ten years and all he had done was rescue children from orc bands. What foolishness! The White Wizard was certain that with the power he commanded, he could very well have carved out a kingdom out for himself. If he had, he might've made a valuable ally.

But he had not and now, he was with this so-called "Fellowship of the Ring." This was even more foolishness. What could they possibly do to succeed in this quest of theirs? Did they honestly believe that they would make into Mount Doom to cast the Ring back into its fires? It was more likely that they would tear themselves apart trying to take control of the Ring from each other. He might've been able to help in that regard, if they were not hiding in Caras Galadhon. Galadriel would be able to sense him and stop him.

The sound of feet walking through his halls entered his ears. There were two kinds of feet that were walking, one was a shuffling gait and the other was loud and audible. "My lord, we have brought him," said an orc who had appeared at the door. There were three other orcs and in the middle of the four was his creation, the first of many.

The White Wizard eyed his creation, who did nothing and said nothing. "Take him to the hall of the palantir," he ordered.

"Yes, my lord." The orcs turned around and ushered his creation out of the room. He stood up from his desk and followed them at a distance.

Once they had reached the hall of the palantir, the orcs and his creation stopped, letting him catch up with them. He walked forward to look at his creation more closely. It seemed to have noticed because a low quiet snarl came out of its throat and was directed at the White Wizard.

"_Good,"_ he thought to himself. "Leave us," he said aloud.

"But, my lord, he's…" the orc that spoke quickly fell silent when Saruman's gaze fell upon him.

"Do I need to repeat myself?" he asked.

"No, my lord," the orc said, bowing his head. He and the other three quickly left the hall, leaving him alone with his creation. Silence reigned in the hall as the two just stood there.

"Do you know how the orcs first came into being?" Saruman asked his creation, only receiving a quiet snarl in response. "They were elves once," he said, slowly walking around his creation. "Taken by the dark powers, tortured and mutilated," he told his creation, getting an audible growl in response. "A ruined and terrible form of life," he declared as he finally stopped walking around. "And now, perfected, my fighting Uruk-hai," he finished. The only thing he had left to say was a simple question. "Whom do you serve?"

His creation did not waste any time in answering. "Saruman," it declared with a whispered that echoed throughout the hall and the tower.

The White Wizard smiled. "Good."

* * *

What came next was the arming of his Uruk-hai. There were enough of them to be used as a large scouting squad, so he put them to it. As they were the first batch to be used, the armor and weapons they were getting would crude. But they would also be cruel and that was all he needed them to be right now. The Uruk-hai were so loyal to him that they painted their mark for him, a white hand, on their faces.

Once they were armed and ready, they stood before him to listen to his orders. And he gave them his orders. They were to find the Fellowship. "Hunt them down!" he told them from the balcony he stood on. "Do not stop until they are found. You do not know pain. You do not know fear. You will taste man-flesh!"

They roared and howled their approval at him. Seeing that the necessary frenzy had been whipped up, he turned to the first of the Uruk-hai, who was named Lurtz. "One of the Halflings carries something of great value. Bring them to me alive, and unspoiled. There is also one amongst the men with black hair and eyes the color of blood, I want him as well." Lurtz snarled his understanding but also his frustration. "Kill the others." The frustration was gone.

The firstborn Uruk-hai turned to the rest of his force and kept that whipped frenzy going. With that force driving them, they ran out of the pits, out of Isengard, and out to find their target.

(Location: Lothlórien)

The day had come for them to leave Caras Galadhon, but they would be leaving with a new member. They stood before the Lord and Lady of the Wood and cloaks of elvish-make were set in place around their shoulders with brooches of green leaves holding them. "Never before have we clad strangers in the garb of our own people," Celeborn told them all as the elves who set the cloaks on their shoulders stepped back from. "May these cloaks help shield you from unfriendly eyes."

"We thank you for these gifts, Lord Celeborn," Aragorn told him.

He nodded in reply. "Go now and prepare for the journey ahead. Pack what supplies that will be given to you onto the boats and then return for the giving of gifts by my lady wife. Aragorn, son of Arathorn, attend me."

The Ranger and the elvish lord walked away from the others who went for the bank. "What is it you wish to say to me, Lord Celeborn?" Aragorn asked as they walked by the bank of the river, away from the elves that were helping the rest of the Fellowship.

"To warn you of what lays ahead," he answered. "Every league you travel south, the danger will increase. Mordor orcs now hold the eastern shore of the Anduin. Nor will you find safety on the western bank. Strange creatures, bearing the mark of the White Hand, have been seen on our borders. Seldom do orcs journey in the open under the sun, yet these have done so."

As he spoke, he held a gift for the Ranger to take. It was a small dagger of elvish-make. "Le aphadar aen (you are being tracked)," he told Aragorn in elvish as the man took the gift and looked at the blade. "By river, you have the chance of outrunning the enemy to the Falls of Rauros."

Aragorn said nothing in reply. He just slid the dagger back into its sheath. Meanwhile, the Fellowship was still helping putting the supplies into the boats. The majority of the hobbits there did not know how to sit in a boat (while the one who did hadn't been in one for a while), so they were getting a feel for that.

"What's that?" Pippin asked Legolas as the elf placed a couple of brown packages into the boat.

He had another one of those packages in hand and took out what was inside. "Lembas, elvish waybread," he told the Took before taking a small bite of the bread. "One small bite is enough to fill the stomach of a full man."

Both Pippin and Merry, who was sitting next to his friend, nodded in acknowledgment. As Legolas went back to helping, Merry looked at Pippin. "How many did you eat?" he asked.

"Four," Pippin answered before trying to keep a burp contained. Clearly, the elves underestimated hobbits when it came to lembas.

Both Sasuke and Izuna stood off to the side, away from the boats and elves carrying supplies. "I am excited, sensei," Izuna admitted to Sasuke as they looked out at the river. "I will be seeing Middle-Earth for myself instead of listening to the tales of my elders."

"This is not a vacation, Izuna," Sasuke told him. "You will still be training as we journey. In fact, you will be training when we leave."

"Sensei, we'll be on boats going down a river. How could I train on the water?"

"By walking on the water," he answered. To prove his point, he stepped onto the river, walked a few steps, turned around to look at his student, and then walked back to prove his point. "Understand?"

His student could only nod in stunned surprise (but after learning what he had from his sensei, he really shouldn't have been). "I'm going to be falling into the water a lot, aren't I?" he asked. His control over his chakra had gotten better since his training had begun, but he had a feeling that it still needed a lot of work if the looks on his sensei's face were anything to go by.

"If you don't want to, then make sure to get it quickly," Sasuke told him. "I will teach you what to do once we get under way."

It didn't take the elves long to finish placing the supplies in the boats. Once they were, the Fellowship was brought before Galadriel once again (with the exception of Aragorn and Boromir, who chose to stay with the boats). "So now you must leave the woods of Lothlórien," she said to them. "But before you part, I would give you gifts."

An elf stepped forward to Legolas, offering him a bow that was longer and stouter then one he had been using. "My gift for you, Legolas, is a bow of the Galadhrim, worthy of the skill of our woodland kin," Galadriel told him as he took the bow and tested the tautness of its string. He was happy with his gift and gave her a nod of thanks.

She walked past him and stood before Pippin and Merry, who were given small daggers. "These are the daggers of the Noldorin," she told them as they unsheathed the daggers to look at the blades. "They have already seen service in war." She saw a look of unease and fear on Pippin's face and she said to him, "Do not fear, young Peregrin Took. You will find your courage."

She went to Sam and gave a bundle of rope. "And for you, Samwise Gamgee, Elven rope made of hithlain."

"Thank you, my lady," Sam said as he took the bundle. Driven by his curiosity and summoning up his courage, he asked a question. "Have you run out of those nice, shiny daggers?"

Galadriel simply smiled at him before walking past him to stand before Gimli. "And what gift would a dwarf ask of the Elves?" she asked. Since the problems between their two races hadn't exactly been figured out and solved, it was always better to ask rather to give. That way, the chances of accidently insulting one another decreased.

But Gimli was not in that kind of mood. If anything, he was acting nervously. "Nothing," he replied, looking down at the ground but then at her. "Except to look at the lady of the Galadhrim one last time, for she is more fair then all the jewels beneath the earth."

Galadriel laughed and smiled, flattered at the compliments she had just received. The rest of the elves there (including Legolas) looked at Gimli in complete and utter surprise. They had just seen a dwarf compliment an elf, something they didn't think would happen unless the Valar themselves intervened and made it so. The dwarf in question looked away embarrassment. But then he looked back. "Actually, there was one thing," he started to say, only to stop and talk to himself. "No, no, talking nonsense. It's quite impossible. Stupid to ask…"

"Please, Gimli, son of Glóin, what is it you wish of me?" she asked him. He leaned in and she knelt down (surprising the elves around her). He whispered something in her ear that made her smile and say, "If you wish, I shall give it."

"Thank you, my lady," he said with a bowed head.

She walked past him and then stood before the last hobbit. "Farewell, Frodo Baggins," she said to him. "I give you the light of Eärendil, our most beloved star." She handed him a phial that was made of crystal and had water that seemed to shine in the light. "May it be a light for in dark places, when all other lights go out." She placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"Thank you," Frodo said quietly.

She smiled at him and went past him. She stopped before Izuna, who did not meet her eyes. "Hinnoron, look at me," she told him gently but firmly.

He did, but he also had something to say. "Please do not call me that anymore, Lady Galadriel," he said to her. "That's not my name."

"As you wish," she said in reply, smiling a small smile at him. "My gift to you is something that is yours by right."

"You have something of my fathers?" he asked, a small hope rising in his voice as he spoke.

She shook her head. "No, what I am to give to you is not of your sire's, but of your mother's sire."

"My mother's father?" he said with a confused look. "She never spoke of him."

"Which was something she had to do," she told him. "If the secret of whom her sire was, dark forces would've tried to end her and any chance of the line continuing. Her sire, who I had known well and counted him among my family, kept her a secret and gave her to me to protect and hide, which I had done so."

"Who was her sire?" the half-elf asked, wanting to know.

Again she smiled at him, but this time it was a sad smile. "If this had been a different age, when there were more of our kind and our time wasn't ending, we may have crowned you as High King when you came of age."

Somehow, the words struck him deeply and made him look at her with shock on his face. "You…you mean…" Despite his attempt to speak, he could not finish his sentence. He was too stunned to do so.

But she knew what he was trying to say and nodded her head. "Yes, I do. Your mother, Gilrin, was the daughter of Gil-galad, the last High King of the Ñoldor and the grandson of my brother, Angrod." Everyone who knew what that had meant could only look at her with either shocked or stunned expressions on their faces (those who didn't only had looks of confusion). The legends and histories had all said that Gil-galad had died at the hands of Sauron with no children of his loins. Evidently, that wasn't the case anymore.

"And now, my gift to you, Izuna, child of Gilrin," Galadriel said, walking over to a nearby table, which had something wrapped in a large white cloth laying on it. She threw back the cloth, took what laid in it, and walked back to the half-elf.

If he had been shocked before, now he could barely even speak at the sight of what was held out for him to take. "Aeglos," he uttered with reverence at he looked on the glaive of his grandfather. It was the only thing he could say.

Even though what he looked on was a weapon, it was still a thing of beauty. Its shaft was made of black wood and its recurved blade gleamed in the light that came past the trees. It was nine feet long with two of those feet being the blade. On the blade was an inscription that Izuna had never seen before but could read well enough:

_Gil-galad ech vae vaegannen matha  
Aith heleg nin i orch gostatha  
Nin ciniel na ngururthos  
Hon ess nin istatha:  
Aeglos_

When translated into the Common Tongue, it read as such:

Gil-galad wields a well-made spear  
The Orc will fear my point of ice  
When he sees me, in fear of death  
He will know my name:  
Aeglos

Stretching an uncertain hand out to take the weapon from the Lady of the Wood, Izuna's grip was shaky as he took hold of it and pulled it from her grasp. _"It is heavy,"_ he thought to himself. But it wasn't heavy in a way that would be unbearable. It was the kind of heaviness that would disappear once he had gotten used to its weight.

When he held it in both of his hands, he had to restrain the urge to spin it around. It would've been childish (to him, at least) and now was not a time to be childish. Instead, he placed the end of the shaft on the ground with the blade in the air. "I will do my grandfather proud, my lady," he told Galadriel. "His memory I will not shame."

"Do not lose your life in to protect that memory, Izuna," she told him in reply. "For your grandsire and your mother would not want you to do that. They would want you to live." He took it as the advice it was and bowed his head to her, while still holding the glaive upwards.

She walked past him and stood before Sasuke, the last in the line. "I have nothing to offer you as a gift, Uchiha Sasuke," she told him, surprising the rest of the Fellowship. "Only something that should be returned."

"And what would that be?" he asked her.

She turned back to the table. As she did, everyone realized that there was something else lying in the cloth that had held Aeglos. She took it, holding it carefully in her hands, and held it out for him. "You left this in my care when I saw you for the last time, saying that I was the only one you could trust with it. You said that no one but you would be able to wield it or hold it. It grieves me to say that your words have proven true, for many young elves in these woods thought that they could master a blade of Man, only to die when they held it."

His eyes were on the weapon she held in her hands. It was a katana with a hilt that was black with white bands over it and a circular guard with no apparent design on it. It was sheathed in a scabbard that was so dark it almost looked like black wood. All-in-all, it looked like an ordinary katana, no different from any other he had seen before. And yet, there was something about it and something about how she spoke of it. "If what you say is true, why are you not dead?" he asked her.

"I do not know. Perhaps it knows what I was to you. But in spite of that, I have only held it twice. The first was when it was given to me and the second is now. And now I ask you this: will you take back what you had given up?"

He was silent for the longest time, looking at her and then at the katana. He could use a sword after losing his chokutō in Moria, but he didn't know whether it would accept him. She knew who he was, but did the katana know that? As he wondered about it all, an idea came to him and he looked down at his left arm.

"_It could work,"_ he thought himself, shrugging the new cloak he had on back to reveal his arm for all there to see. Pulling out one of the knives he had asked be made for him and Izuna (he wouldn't risk asking for shuriken, thinking that the elves didn't know the design), he placed it against the top of his shoulder and began cutting away.

Everyone looked on with interest as he cut the knots holding the bandages tight on his shoulder. Ever since they had seen that arm, they wondered what had caused him to wear those bandages and what lay beneath them. As the bandages unraveled and fell to the ground, their anticipation rose.

They had thought to see an arm burned black by flame, perhaps some hideous wound or scar that stretched from fingertip to shoulder bone. But there was nothing of the sort when all the bandages fell away and his arm was revealed. But what they did see were black rune-like characters stretching and encircling his arm like a great many chains shackling it. It seemed that the characters originated from the black crescent moon mark in the palm of his hand.

Once the bandages had fallen and his hand was free of their restraints, he reached out with that arm and took hold of the hilt. With the other hand, he took hold of the sheath and took it from Galadriel's hands. Almost instantly, there was a hostile feeling inside his mind, telling him that he will die. But acting on his instinct, which was telling him to use his **Sharingan**, he did just that. He saw that there was writing done in chakra on the sheath. He began speaking in the language of the Elemental Nations, saying the words wreathed in chakra flame.

Beneath the light of the pale moon  
I lay in silent wait,  
Where there are no stars to shine,  
I am the gate.

There are none who can withstand me,  
There are none who can hide from me,  
There are none who can hold against me.

In the darkness of the night  
I hunt those who would try to resist,  
An unseen hunter I am  
For those who think they can persist.

Many fear what they think me to be,

They pray that they will remain unseen to me,  
But they forget that I have seen them all  
And they all answer to my call.

I am nowhere and I am everywhere,  
I am no one and I am everyone,  
I am trapped and yet I am free.

My greatest secret is plain to see  
For those who are brave enough to find it,  
And those who would name me  
are too afraid to see what that secret is:

I am an instrument, and I have no name.

With each word he spoke, the chakra-inscribed characters faded away until there were none left. When he was done, the hostile feeling inside his head seemed to have fallen into a grudging silence. He did not draw the blade to see what it looked like or to see its sharp edge. He had no need to. He knew that when it was drawn, the words would be proven true.

Instead, he lowered the sword to his side. In doing so, he noticed something that was surprising. The sealing pattern on his left arm did not end at his shoulder anymore. Now it only reached his elbow and before his eyes, it faded away until it could barely be seen against the skin. He knew it was still there and it was still sealed, but now he did not need to cover his arm anymore.

He looked at the Lady of the Wood and a strange desire came over him. To the surprise and shock of all the elves there, he reached out and hugged Galadriel. "Thank you, Galadriel," he whispered into her ear, speaking the language of the Elemental Nation and with an accent that was positively ancient. "Thank you for being there."

"You are welcome," she replied, returning the hug. She didn't say the name and she didn't need to.

Now that all the gifts had been given, it was time to leave. The Fellowship got into their boats, Legolas, Izuna, and Gimli in one, Aragorn, Frodo, Sasuke, and Sam in another, and Boromir, Merry, and Pippin in a third. They paddled away from the bank and onto the river. It was slow at first; they had to be formal about leaving, paying silent homage to their hosts as they passed. Just as they left the borders of Lothlórien, they saw Galadriel watching them leave. She raised a hand in farewell as they passed.

"I have taken my worst wound at this part, having looked my last on that which is fairest," Gimli declared once they were out of Lothlórien. "Henceforth I will call nothing fair unless it be her gift to me."

"What was her gift?" Legolas asked him. Izuna looked quietly on, but looked interested as well. Out of all the gifts that had been given, the one the dwarf had received had been done without the rest of the Fellowship seeing it.

"I asked her for one hair from her golden head. She gave me three."

The elf prince smiled. "That was kind of her."

"Aye, it was."

As they continued paddling, the boat holding Sasuke came beside their boat. "Izuna, we are out of Lothlórien," he said to his student. "Do you remember everything I told you?"

"Yes, sensei," he answered. As they traveled in the safe waters, the sensei had told the student what to do.

"Then begin."

"What's going on?" Gimli asked, looking at them both. The half-elf did not answer him. Instead, he stood up, took a deep breath, lifted a foot up into the air, and then putting it down on the water. To their surprise of all but one of the Fellowship, the foot did not go through the water.

Izuna smiled at the small success but the smile died away when he saw that his sensei wasn't smiling or even had a look of approval on his face. So he took the other foot off the boat and placed it on the river as well. He stood there with shaky legs before falling down into the water.

But he didn't fall all the way in. He managed to reach out and grab hold of the two boats, stopping him from sinking. Without saying a word, he pulled himself out of the water and onto the boat, glad that he had taken the cloak he had received off.

"Do it again," Sasuke told him. It was the only thing he said.

"Yes, Sasuke-sensei," he said in reply, stepping out onto the water again.

This went on for the rest of the day. As the boats paddled down the river, the half-elf would walk among them. He had fallen more times than he could or would want to count. But he received no help and he did not ask for it. Necessity and survival forced him to figure it out or die. And he was proud to say that he did figure it out by the time the sun had reached its zenith.

But once he had done so, Sasuke ordered him to walk for the rest of the day. Walking on water was different than just standing on the water. But he could do it. He took slow steps to make sure that he wouldn't fall into the water again (as he had plenty enough of that already). But as time passed in the day, he took more and more confident steps.

By the time they had brought the boats onto a bank and set up camp for the night, Izuna could walk on the surface of the river as if it was a road or the earth itself. But he was also soaking wet. "Is there any chance of us being able to have a fire?" he asked the others as they took out what supplies they needed out of the boats. He was shivering as drops of water fell off his clothes.

Aragorn looked out at the river, trying to see what was out there. "We will have to keep it small," he finally said. "We do not want unwanted eyes looking for us."

"I will be glad to have my clothes dried," Izuna told the Ranger, glad for the answer.

"You should've just stripped before going out onto the water," Sasuke told his student from where he sat on the bank, the katana he had taken from Galadriel laying in his lap.

He looked at his sensei with surprise on his face. "I thought I had to do it fully clothed!"

"When did I say that?" He fell silent as he closed his eyes.

"What are you trying to do?" Pippin asked him.

"I'm trying to meditate and I would like some quiet." No one said a word to him as he continued to meditate. What he didn't tell them was that he was trying to meditate through the sword in his lap. He wanted to be sure of something and he had a feeling that the katana itself would help with that something.

As he concentrated, all outside noise faded away. When he opened his eyes, he wasn't sitting on a bank next to the Anduin River. Instead, he was perched on a rock on one end of a rock garden, just like the one he had seen in Lothlórien.

Across from him was another rock and sitting on it was another person. "I thought it would be you," Sasuke said to him.

"**It's my sword, the one I inherited from my father,"** the spirit of Ōtsutsuki Indra said in reply. **"Did you think that it would be someone else?"**

"No, but it never hurts to check. So, are you really him?"

"**No, this is only an image. But it is still me."**

"I see." It certainly looked like the firstborn son of the Rikudō Sennin. The hair was the same color brown, it was cut in the same fashion, and he had those two locks hanging down on either side of his face wrapped in bandages. His eyebrows were cut short in the ancient way that showed he was nobility (which Sasuke had found to look ridiculous). He had the same blue markings around his eyes, which were alit with spiral-patterned **Mangekyō Sharingan**.

"**Is there a particular reason why you've decided to look for me?"** Indra asked him.

"I just wished to see if what I had thought was true." He looked around and saw only the rock garden. But what was interesting about the garden was that the rocks did not stay still. They moved around as if they were in a current or a flow. "Are we the only ones in here?"

"**Why? Do you wish to speak to your predecessor?"** The image of Indra raised a hand and another stone rose from the rocks and a vague image began to form.

"No," Sasuke told him. He had enough memories of Uchiha Madara. Quite frankly, he was still having difficulty putting the man he fought into the story Bilbo had given him. "Goodbye, we might speak again."

"**I look forward to it,"** he said with the barest hints of sarcasm.

When Crabandir opened his eyes, he could see that some of the Fellowship had fallen asleep while others, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, were still awake. "How long was I meditating?" he asked them as he joined them at the fire, absently noticing that his student's clothes were drying on a line over it.

"Meditating?" Gimli repeated. "Lad, we had thought you had fallen asleep."

"How long?" he repeated himself.

"Only an hour," Aragorn assured him. "There is still some food being kept warm." He gestured slightly to the pain in the fire that food in it.

"Thanks," he said shortly, reaching for the pan and taking it off the fire. Once the food was cool enough to move onto a plate, he did so and began to eat.

The other three were silent while he ate, but Legolas had something to say when he was done. "Crabandir, may I ask you a question?"

"What?"

"When Lady Galadriel spoke to you during the giving of gifts, she said that you had left that sword in her care. But I don't think that you would be one to leave a weapon behind. And it did not sound like she was talking to you, more like a different person."

"She was, in a sense. And you would be right; I would not leave a weapon like this behind."

"I do not understand."

He looked at the elf for a long moment and then turned to Gimli. "I've read some of the Dwarves, particularly about Durin the Deathless and how he would go to sleep and awake in his own line. In Southern-Earth, we have something similar. I've heard it be called reincarnation."

"I've heard it called that too," Gimli admitted. "But we dwarves only have Durin."

"The Elemental Nations have two, Indra and his younger brother, Asura. When their father chose Asura as his successor, Indra did not approve of the choice and fought his brother until they both died. But even death would not hold them. Their chakras would latch onto a person of their line, thus reincarnating them, in a sense. Their reincarnations would always fight against each other, until recent times."

"How do you that?"

"Because I am one of those two reincarnations," he answered. He reached down and held up the katana. "The Lady of the Wood said that I had left this in her care because in a sense, I did." He looked over at his sleeping student. "You could also say that I am also Izuna's father."

The looks he got were of confusion. "Please, explain," Aragorn said to him.

"I am the most recent reincarnation of Ōtsutsuki Indra. My predecessor was Uchiha Madara. When Lady Galadriel spoke to me, she was speaking to Indra."

"Really?" asked Legolas.

"Why do you think I hugged her? That was Indra's chakra making me do it."

"And your…opposite?" It didn't sound like the right word to the elf, but it was the only thing he could think to say.

But it didn't work for Sasuke. Instead of him answering, he just let his face go blank. "I've know who he is," he said shortly. It was the only thing he would say about the matter and the others were wise enough to not push the subject. Eventually, they went to sleep and left him with the watch.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

I've probably offended a lot of Tolkien purists with what I've written in this chapter, but this is the _Lord of the Rings_ we're talking about here. It's all about the names and linages.

As for the katana itself, don't bother asking me if it has a name, it doesn't. I was a little inspired by the Archer chant from Fate/stay night when I was trying to write that poem, but it's more than likely a little wide of the mark.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	10. The fracture

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 10: The fracture

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: the Fellowship)

They were still traveling down the river, already several days beyond the borders of Lothlórien. Izuna had been made to walk on the water the second day, but he did with much more confidence and even though he had wobbled here and there, he did not fall in. But still, his sensei was visually impressed. He kept making Izuna walk on the water until he was satisfied, which wasn't until the fifth day on the river.

Aragorn paddled his boat in silence with Sasuke helping him from the front. As the boat went down the course of the river, the Ranger looked over at the boat with Boromir in it. They had a small argument two nights past and ever since, he felt uneasy with the man from Gondor.

(Flashback)

They had set upon another bank for the night. While the others were setting up the camp, he, Boromir, and Sasuke, were looking at the river itself. A log was floating past their camp, but they could see hints of fingers on the log and a head behind it.

Despite the fact that they could only see hints, the Ranger of the three knew who it was. "Gollum," he said quietly. "He's tracked us since Moria. I had hoped to lose him on the river. But he's too clever a waterman." He walked away to get a better look. The log wedged itself against a cropping of rocks, anchoring it and making it stop.

"And if he alerts the enemy to our whereabouts, it will make the crossing even more dangerous," Boromir said, keeping an eye on the log.

The Captain-General's words were also heard by Frodo, who felt nervous more so then he already was. He knew that Gollum had been following them since Moria, but the only time he had seen the creature was on the stairs in the Mines. For him to be just on the other side of the river was unnerving.

"Have some food, Mr. Frodo," Sam told him, unpacking the food as he spoke.

"No, Sam," he replied.

"You haven't eaten anything all day. You're not sleeping neither," his gardener told him. "Don't think I haven't noticed."

"Frodo, you should eat something," Izuna agreed with Sam. The half-elf was absently rubbing his right wrist. That morning before they set out, his sensei had placed a seal on that wrist, placing Aeglos inside so it would not hinder him out of combat. He had been taught to use it (it was a brief lesson), but he still couldn't believe it was there.

"I'm alright," Frodo told the two of them.

The half-elf let it go there, but Sam did not. "But you're not," he protested, going to Frodo's side. "I'm here to help you. I promised Gandalf I would."

For a long moment, the Ringbearer said and did nothing. Then he looked at his friend. "You can't help me, Sam. Not this time. Get some sleep." He couldn't hold the look any more and turned away. Sam said nothing. He just went back to the fire.

As the rest of the Fellowship tried to fall asleep, the three who were watching the river kept their eyes on the log. Boromir dared to take his eyes off to look at Aragorn. "Minas Tirith is the safer road," he told the Ranger from the north. "You know that. From there we can regroup. Strike out at Mordor from a place of strength."

"There is no strength in Gondor that can avail us," Aragorn told him.

"You were quick enough to trust the elves!" he said in reply, but only received silence for an answer. "Have you so little faith in your own people? Yes, there is weakness. There is frailty. But there is courage also, and honor to be found in Men," he told the heir of Isildur. "But you will not see that."

Aragorn tried to turn away, but Boromir grabbed him by the shoulder and stopped him from moving. "You are afraid!" the Captain-General accused him. "All your live, you have hidden in the shadows. Scared of who you are, of what you are."

He broke his arm free of Boromir's grip. He took a half-step away but then looked back. "I will not lead the Ring within a hundred leagues of your city!" he promised the man from Gondor.

That was end of that argument, for the sound of feet walking on water (something they had gotten used to) filled their ears. They looked and saw Sasuke walking on the water of the river. "What are you doing, Sasuke?" Boromir asked him with a loud whisper.

"Pest control," he answered shortly, still walking on the water. He went to about the midpoint of the river and stopped. He looked at the log, still wedged against the rocks. With a blur of his arm, he grabbed hold of a knife and threw it at the log.

It flew through the air and struck the log hard, landing just in between the gap that was created by the space of two fingers. The end result was that hand suddenly letting go of the log, which was followed with a loud yelp and a splash. When the splashing stopped, the hand was back on the log and a pair of eyes was glaring at him.

But that did not scare him. He responded in kind by activating his **Sharingan**, giving the log and the creature guiding it a level stare. "Move on," he ordered. In the long second that followed, nothing happened. Then the log dislodged itself from the rocks and began to float down the river again.

Once he saw that it was moving, Sasuke turned around and began walking back to the bank. But when he heard mutterings and what sounded like curses, he spun around with another knife at the ready. The sounds died away and the log floated away faster.

He lowered the knife and turned back to the bank of the river, walking across the water until he was back on land. "He will not stay away for long," Aragorn told him. "He will return."

"He's away for now," he replied, putting the knife away. "Be thankful for that."

(End Flashback)

Aragorn's memory of that night was cut short when he saw where they were. "Frodo," he said to the hobbit sitting in front of him, tapping his shoulder. "The Argonath!" he said as they came into view. "Long have I desired to look upon the kings of old. My kin."

Sasuke looked upon what the Ranger was speaking of. It was statues of two men on either side of the river. They held axes in one hand, but with the other they held out in a gesture of defiance. But while Aragorn looked upon them with reverence, all Sasuke could think of was the Valley of the End. "Who are they?" he asked quietly.

"They are Isildur and Anárion, sons of Elendil," Aragorn told him. "It was built to mark the northern border of Gondor, though that border has now changed."

That was all he said and Sasuke didn't press him. All he could do was look at the statues and be reminded of the Valley. It had been ten years since he saw it, so his image of it was more than likely vague (there was also the fact that it was in shambles the last time he had been there). But the two statues he saw before him were about the same height or so as of the ones in his memory.

An odd idea struck him as they passed by the statues. _"Did Madara see them when he had been here?"_ he wondered to himself. _"Was he the one who had built the statues at the Valley? Was it because of jealously? Or was it inspiration?"_ He didn't have an answer, so he let it go.

What lay beyond the statues was a lake. It was a fairly large one and it would take more than a few minutes to get from bank to bank. But what was interesting (and a little unnerving) was what lay directly opposite of the two statues. It was a waterfall, a large waterfall that was split into two by a large rock. From the distance they were at, where the edge of it looked like the edge of the world.

But they did not pay much attention to it. Instead, they rowed the boats to the western shore. Once they were there, they climbed out and began taking the supplies onto dry land. Boromir still sat in his boat, his feelings clashing inside of him. But his eyes were on Frodo, who felt his gaze.

Once the supplies were out of the boats and a fire had started, Aragorn told them the next step. "We cross the lake at nightfall. Hide the boats and continue on foot," he said to all who were there as he took the last of the supplies from the boats. "We approach Mordor from the north."

"Oh, yes? Just a simple matter of finding our way through Emyn Muil?" said Gimli when he heard that plan, standing up from his spot. His words weren't making Pippin more confident. "An impossible labyrinth of razor-sharp rocks! And after that, it gets even better! Festering, stinking marshlands as far as the eye can see."

"That is our road," the Ranger told him shortly. "I suggest you take some rest and recover your strength, Master Dwarf."

It was needless to say that said dwarf was insulted by that last remark. "Recover my…?!" he began to say, only to stop and growl half-heartedly.

Legolas, who had been watching the forest behind them, turned back and went straight to the Ranger. "We should leave now," he said quietly.

"No," Aragorn disagreed. "Orcs patrol the eastern shore. We must wait for cover of nightfall."

"It is not the eastern shore that worries me," the elf said, turning his gaze back at the forest moment. "A shadow and a threat had been growing in my mind. Something draws near. I can feel it." The man still looked a little skeptical but was not about to ignore his friend's warning.

"Recover strength?" Gimli still grumbled as Merry came back with a bundle of stick for the fire. "Pay no heed to that, young hobbit."

Merry wasn't really paying attention to what the dwarf was saying; he more focused on making sure his bundle didn't spill every which way once he put it on the ground. But once he had put it down and stood back up, he noticed something. "Where's Frodo?" he asked.

Those two words got the attention of the entire Fellowship (even waking Sam from his naps), for the Ringbearer was nowhere to be seen. But Aragorn noticed something else. "Where is Boromir?" he asked, seeing how the Captain-General's shield, which he never went anywhere without, was lying against his bag.

Sasuke was the first to take action. "We need to find them. We can't split up now."

"It'll take longer to find them if we all look together," Aragorn said, agreeing with the raven-haired shinobi. "We'll have to split up to find them more quickly." The rest of them agreed with the sentiment and quickly scattered.

* * *

Frodo was walking amongst the ruins on the hill. He was told that the ruins here were called Amon Hen and the top was the Seat of Seeing. He was quiet as he walked; looking at all that was there. The ruins were completely overgrown, with trees and roots having worked their way through the stonework. He went walked past what used to be the head to a large statue, now it was lying on its side, covered in leaves.

"_What did this place look like in its glory?"_ he asked himself. He tried to imagine it, to see the ruins as they once stood, with no leaves, tree branches, or roots to obscure them. But all he could see were the ruins as they were, wrecked and destroyed.

As the hobbit kept wandering, Boromir appeared with a bundle of sticks in his arms. "None of us should wander alone. You, least of all," he said to Frodo. "So much depends on you." The hobbit did not say a word. "Frodo?" he said with a tone of small concern.

Frodo looked away, so he stepped forward. "I know why you seek solitude. You suffer, I see it day by day. You sure you do not suffer needlessly?" Still, the hobbit said nothing. "There are other ways, Frodo. Other ways we might take."

"I know what you would say," Frodo told him. "It would seem like wisdom, but for the warning in my heart."

"Warning? Against what?" he demanded. He took another step forward, which made the Ringbearer step away and then around him. "We're all afraid, Frodo. But to let that fear drive us, to destroy what hope we have, don't you see that is madness?" He followed the hobbit, which him step back even more.

"There is no other way!"

"I ask only for the strength to protect my people!" he tried to explain, but he felt anger and threw his bundle down in a fury. He tried to compose himself and held out his hand. "If you would but lend me the Ring…"

"No!" Frodo said instantly, stepping back even further.

But he followed. "Why do you recoil? I am not thief."

"You are not yourself."

"What chance do you think you have?" he challenged the hobbit, something dark showing in his face and his words. "They will find you. They will take the Ring. And you will beg for death before the end!"

Frodo had heard enough of it and turned his back on the man from Gondor, walking away. That turned out to be the tipping point. "You fool!" Boromir spat out, going after him. "It is not yours save by unhappy chance! It could've been mine!" When Frodo ran, he ran after him and tackled him to the earth. "It should be mine! Give it to me!" he ordered as he struggled with the hobbit.

"No!" Frodo shouted at him.

"Give it to me!" But the Ringbearer put the Ring on and promptly disappeared from sight. He made his escape, knocking Boromir aside and fleeing from him. He looked around quickly, despite knowing that he would not find the hobbit. "I see your mind," he shouted at the surrounding woods. "You would take the Ring to Sauron! You go to your death, and to the death of us all!" He stood up with anger. "Curse you! Curse you and all the Halflings!"

His foot slipped beneath him, making him fall to the ground and hit his head on the earth. He lay there for a moment, and he looked shakily up. The madness and anger that engulfed him had disappeared and he realized what he had done. "Frodo?" he said to the woods, but he received no answer. "Frodo?" The woods still did not answer him and tears of shame began to fill his eyes. "What have I done?" How could he have been so weak? "Please, Frodo."

* * *

"Frodo, I'm sorry!" The hobbit heard Boromir's words in the shadow world that he was in, but they sounded far away. He did not stop because of them either. He had run right up to the ruins of the Seat of Seeing. He heard his name again and he hid behind a cluster of rocks on top of the ruin.

But he felt something pulling toward him, urging him to look up over the rocks and see. And he fell to that urging. He looked up over the edge of the rocks and saw the tower of Barad-dûr fly in closer. Once he saw the base of it as close as he could, he flew up to the top and soon, the Eye was all he could see.

The Black Speech began to fill his ears as his two eyes stared at the one. It began to loom closer and closer towards him, the Black Speech still speaking into his ears. He stepped, trying to take the Ring off his finger. He slipped and fell off of the ruins, going back into the real world just as he landed on the ground.

He laid there in shock for a moment or two and when he finally sat up, he was momentarily confused by how he got up to the top of the hill. "Frodo?" said Aragorn, standing behind him and making him turn quickly around.

"It has taken Boromir," he told the Ranger.

"Where is the Ring?" he asked, stepping forward.

What had happened with the man from Gondor was still fresh in Frodo's mind. "Stay away!" he told Aragorn, leaping from where he sat and going for the ruins.

The Ranger went after him, not sure what this was all about. "Frodo, I swore to protect you," he said to the Ringbearer.

"Can you protect me from yourself?" Frodo challenged him. Both of their eyes looked down at the hobbit's closed hand, which still held the Ring inside of it. He opened his hand, so the Man could see the Ring. "Would you destroy it?"

Aragorn looked at the Ring in the hobbit's hand. He could hear it whispering in his ears. It whispered all his names, telling him what he could do if he just took it. He walked forward and stretched out his hand, holding it over the Ring and making Frodo very nervous. But to the hobbit's surprise, he knelt down and closed his hand, covering the Ring and silencing the whispers.

"I would have gone with you to the end. Into the very fires of Mordor," he told Frodo as he gently pushed the hand away, now seeing what he was planning on doing.

"I know," the Ringbearer said in reply. Silently, he was glad someone approved of his decision. "Look after the others, especially Sam. He will not understand."

"Aragorn!" called out Sasuke, his voice getting closer until he finally appeared from behind a wall and saw the two of them. "Good, you…" He trailed off as he felt the ground tremble beneath his feet and angry growls filled his ears. They were not alone on this hill.

Aragorn felt the same thing the shinobi did, but he did not hear the growls. But he did see something that made him stand up and drawn his sword. "Go, Frodo!" he ordered the hobbit, who realized what the Ranger had seen and confirmed it by drawing his glowing blade. "Run," Aragorn told him. "Run!"

The hobbit did as he was ordered and fled down the hill. Aragorn walked out the opposite side of the ruins, coming to where Sasuke was standing. In front of them was the host of Uruk-hai that had come out of Isengard. Neither of them said a word, the Ranger simply raised his sword to his face in salute and the shinobi drew his katana, allowing the sound of it being drawn out of the scabbard fill the air.

The host did not fear the two Men with swords. They charged forward with weapons drawn and the two Men met them. The battle was even-sided, but in different terms. The Men had the skill but the Uruk-hai had the numbers. And even when Aragorn and Sasuke slew Uruk-hai after Uruk-hai, some of them still got pass them.

* * *

"Boromir!" shouted Izuna as he went through the woods, trying to find the Captain-General. When they had split up, the hobbits had gone to look for Frodo while his sensei followed Aragorn. Legolas and Gimli had gone with him but once the sounds of fighting began to ring down from the summit, they raced up the hill.

That left him with finding Boromir, which he did so with a much quicker pace once the sounds of fighting began. "Boromir, where are you?" he called out as he hurried through the woods. He soon spotted the man sitting against the trunk of one of the trees. "Boromir!"

The Captain-General looked up at him, "Izuna?" he made it sound like he did not believe what he was seeing.

"You have to get on your feet! Those who are on the summit are being attacked! We need to help them!"

"I can't," he said, not moving from where he sat.

The half-elf was surprised to hear those words. "What do you mean, you can't?"

"I can't help them. I've betrayed the Fellowship."

"What are you saying? How could you have betrayed the Fellowship? We're all still here, but we're under attack. We need everyone's strength."

"I can't!" he repeated himself. "I've betrayed the Fellowship! I tried to take the Ring from Frodo!" His words echoed throughout the woods, reminding him of what he had done. "I desired the Ring, I wanted it for myself. I tried to take it from him and in my failure, I cursed him. I've betrayed his trust in me."

The half-elf didn't say anything at first. He just listened to what the man from Gondor said. Only when he was done did he speak. "Do you regret what you did, Boromir?" he asked.

The Captain-General looked up at him. "Of course I am!" If he could go back, he wouldn't have that conversation with Frodo.

"Then prove it by getting back on your feet and fight!"

At that exact moment, a dark and cruel voice rang out through the woods and the hill. "FIND THE HALFLING AND THE BLOOD-EYED PERSON! FIND THEM!"

Both Boromir and Izuna shared looks at those words. "They mean to take the hobbits!" Boromir said in horror, finally standing up on his feet again.

"And Sasuke-sensei!" said Izuna. "We have to go and fight whoever they are off. We need to protect our comrades!" He raced off into the woods and Boromir followed with his sword drawn.

* * *

Aragorn had backed himself up to the top of the ruins fighting off the Uruk-hai that followed him. But when he heard the Uruk-hai that spoke utter those words, he looked and saw that more and more of the Uruk-hai were getting down the side of the hill where Frodo had fled. "Elendil!" he roared his war cry as he leapt off the ruins and landed amidst a group of the Uruk-hai.

If it had been any other time, Sasuke would've rolled his eyes and make a comment. But it wasn't any other time and he had to focus on what he was doing, which was cutting a path to the leader. It had always been his experience that if you cut down the leader, everyone else pretty much falls to pieces.

As he cut his way through the Uruk-hai host, he admired how his katana cut through the flesh. The way he handled and used felt like he had done several times before (considering his status as Indra's incarnation, it was probably true).

He managed to fight his way to the one who had spoken (who he had taken to be the leader) but did not get a hit on him. Another Uruk-hai stepped in front of his blade's path, getting cut down. In the few seconds that this happened, the leader had stepped back and vanished. Then Sasuke realized that he made his way too deep into the body of the host. It would be difficult to get out now.

"_Difficult, but not impossible,"_ he thought to himself, beginning to channel his chakra into his eyes. He had not activated his **Sharingan** yet, wanting to see how he did with the katana before bringing that out onto the field. And if they were looking for him, why would he hide?

Help for the two Men came in the form of a Dwarf and an Elf. Gimli and Legolas came out of the ruins and began attacking the still moving host. Gimli helped Aragorn get free of the group he literally landed in and Legolas helped Sasuke get out of his spot in the host with his bow and his arrows, opening a path for the raven-haired shinobi.

Once he saw the path, he took it, getting out with minimal problems. "Aragorn, Crabandir, go!" the elf prince ordered the two men. They all knew that he meant go after the ones who had already gotten down the hill.

* * *

When he heard those words echo through the woods, Frodo ran faster down the hill. _"Must run, must run, must run!"_ he thought to himself. As he ran, he tripped over a root and fell forward. He rolled forward an inch or so before stopping and once he did, he crawled for the nearby tree and tried to hide himself by placing his back against the part of the trunk facing downhill.

It worked. There were a few Uruk-hai who came down the hill but they were so focused on going down, they did not look to the sides, going pass their target without even seeing him. _"I'm safe,"_ he thought to himself as he watched them go past.

"Frodo!" Merry's voice whispered into his ear. When he looked over at where it was coming from, he saw Merry and Pippin hiding behind a half-rotten log.

"Hide here. Quick!" Pippin urged him. "Come on!"

He knew what they were trying to do for him. The log was a better place to hide from the Uruk-hai. It covered more of his body and there was enough room for all three of them to hide behind it. But he did not move from the trunk of the tree. He just stared at the two other hobbits.

Pippin didn't understand why Frodo hadn't moved from his spot. "What's he doing?" he asked Merry.

The Brandybuck stared at the Baggins. The two of them had grown up in the same house for a time, so Merry understood what Frodo was thinking most of the time. And when the Ringbearer shook his head, he understood. "He's leaving," he said quietly. Frodo could only look away at those words.

"No!" Pippin declared, jumping out from behind the log.

"Pippin!" Merry went after him. But the shouts and yells of more Uruk-hai filled the air and they both saw more coming down the hill. He and Pippin looked back at their friend. "Run, Frodo! Go!" he ordered before facing the Uruk-hai. "Hey! Hey, you! Over here!" he shouted up the hill, pointing his finger and then waving at them.

"Hey! This way!" shouted Pippin, waving his arms as well. That got the attention of the Uruk-hai, even more so when they started running. The host chased after the two hobbits, leaving the other hobbit free to get away. "It's working!" the Took said as they ran away from Frodo, stopping momentarily to look at the Uruk-hai.

"I know it's working!" Merry told him. "Run!"

They kept running, they ran away from Frodo and led the Uruk-hai away from him. They didn't look back because they knew that they were being chased. But as they made their way across a ruined bridge, they realized their mistake. They had thought that the Uruk-hai were behind them, but it turned out that they were in front of them as well. They had inadvertently put themselves in the midst of a pincer attack.

They drew their swords, but they did not know how many they could take with them before they were killed. They prepared themselves to fight off the Uruk-hai that was coming towards them with a giant axe in its hands, only to see Boromir and Izuna appeared from the corner of their eyes.

The man and half-elf raced towards the axe-wielding Uruk and caught him just before it brought the axe down. While Boromir pulled the axe from its grasp, Izuna threw a kick and promptly broke its leg. It roared in pain momentarily before Boromir buried the axe in its back. The two left the Uruk and stayed close to the hobbits, who were already defending themselves.

"I'm really happy to see you two!" Pippin said as he buried his sword into the stomach of an Uruk.

"Focus on the fight, Pippin!" Izuna told him while keeping his eyes on two Uruks coming straight at him with swords in the air. He didn't go for them at the same time, instead he went for one, disarming and killing it. Then he turned his attention to the other one and killed it too. This all happened in the space of ten seconds and he was using his **Sharingan** for every second.

He picked up both swords, noting how different they were to the swords he had seen in Lothlórien. Those swords were gently curved and graceful, these were straight and crude, but they would do. His sensei had taught him something about swordplay, so he wouldn't be too useless with them in his hands.

Another round of Uruk-hai came at them, this time from all directions. "Stay together!" Boromir ordered the other three there. They did as instructed and kept together as the Uruk-hai attacked.

* * *

Meanwhile, higher up on the hill, other members of the Fellowship were still fighting off the Uruks. They had moved down to the summit to try and cut off the flow of the Uruks, only to be blockaded by them next to a ruined wall.

Gimli had been drawn out to fight on the outskirts while Sasuke was fighting an Uruk who could handle an axe. They were going back and forth with each other around the edge of the ruined wall and the Uruk was particularly keen on keeping him away from the others. While Aragorn was trying to fight off an Uruk-hai who had its hands around his throat, Legolas was shooting any who came close to them. But since he was trying to do that, he couldn't help the others.

It was Gimli who first managed to break free of the fight he was in, killing the last Uruk that was keeping him on the outskirts. He went to where Sasuke was fighting and interceded himself into the fight. "I've got this, lad! Go help Aragorn!" he told Sasuke. The shinobi broke off and went for Aragorn. When the Uruk tried to go after him, the dwarf stood in his way. "Oh no, you don't!"

Sasuke went for the Uruk wrestling with Aragorn and sliced its legs off. Without the support of said legs, the Uruk fell to the ground, dragging the Ranger down with it. It didn't do anything since Sasuke plunged his katana into its head, killing it. "Thank you," Aragorn said to the shinobi as he stood back.

Just then, three sharp loud blasts from a horn echoed up the hill, making them all turn to where it was coming from. "The Horn of Gondor," Legolas said, recognizing the sound.

"Boromir," Aragorn said in realization.

Sasuke didn't say anything, he just stared running down the hill and everyone else followed him. But the Uruk-hai realized what they were trying to do. A few of them broke off from the flow that was heading down the hill to stop them. The shinobi didn't waste time in fighting off the Uruk trying to attack him.

"_Izuna, you better not have done anything stupid,"_ he thought to himself as he decapitated the Uruk. He had heard the leader shout out to find the blood-eyed person, which meant **Sharingan**. That meant both sensei and student were targets as long as their **Sharingan** were active. If they were kept inactive, they were safe.

The problem was while he had figured it out; he wasn't so sure about his student. That was why he was hoping that Izuna wasn't doing anything stupid. As he fought through the host, he noticed that they were going on direction. He decided to try something and broke away from the Uruks, going down the hill in a different way.

* * *

Izuna's **Sharingan** were alight as he continued to fight off the Uruk-hai with the swords. He hadn't thought to pull out Aeglos when he ran to the hobbits and since he had the swords, he didn't bother. Three blasts from the Horn of Gondor filled the area as Boromir blew it again. _"Let them come soon,"_ the half-elf thought as he drove the sharpened points of the swords into an Uruk's brain.

Another three blasts were blown as they all backed away. More and more Uruks were running down the hill and heading straight for them. "Run! Run!" Boromir ordered the other three.

Merry and Pippin ran farther then he or Izuna did. But when they noticed at the other two were still fighting, they reached down and started throwing stones at the incoming Uruks. "Take that!" Pippin shouted as he hurled a stone at an Uruk, successfully hitting it in the head and making it go down hard.

Boromir was still blowing the Horn when an Uruk tried to attack. He reacted quickly enough to defend himself, but that in turn made the blowing of the Horn end abruptly. To those who were not there, it would've sounded like something bad had happened. But the Captain-General did not think of that when he fighting off the Uruk-hai, he was more focused on killing it.

Izuna was beginning to feel the weight of the swords on his arms, more so on his left then his right. He had only gotten some basic lessons in swordplay from his sensei and they were for a different kind of sword. The most he could do with the kind of swords he was using was either use the sharpen point on the back or as cleavers. _"I won't be able to use both of them for much longer,"_ he thought to himself.

At that moment, with his **Sharingan** lit, he saw something flying through the air. It was an arrow and it was flying straight at Boromir. Thinking of only one thing to do, he threw one of the swords at the arrow. _"Please hit,"_ he thought to himself.

It did and the arrow was snapped in two. It did further good by striking an Uruk and knocking it out cold. Boromir turned his head to see what had happened and gave a short nod of thanks to Izuna. _"That's twice my life has been saved,"_ he thought to himself, remembering how Aragorn saved his life in Moria.

"Ah! Help!" shouted Pippin, making the man and half-elf turned around. One of the Uruks had gotten past them and was going straight for the hobbits.

"Hit it, Pip!" Merry told his friend. They threw stones at it, but it used its shield to block the stones being thrown. But when it reached them, it got a surprise. The two hobbits leapt at it and brought it slamming into the ground. While it was stunned, they stabbed it with their swords. Once they were sure it was dead, they got off and scrambled for more stones to throw.

"Well done!" Boromir shouted at them while still keeping his attention on the Uruk-hai around him. As one leapt at him, he ducked down to let it land on his back. He stood back up, making the Uruk fall to the earth and die when he impaled it with his sword. He pulled it out and swung it upwards to counter a strike from another Uruk. The sound of metal clashing against metal rang as the two struck each other. In that moment, he pushed forward and caught the Uruk off-guard.

Izuna made sure he kept close to the man from Gondor. He had both hands on the remaining sword and swung it like a cleaver. He could feel his arms getting tired but he could not let go of the sword. _"If I drop this sword in the middle of a battle, what would Sasuke-sensei say?"_ he asked himself as he used the sword to block an attack and then kicked the attacking Uruk off of its feet. _"I wouldn't be able to look him in the eyes again!"_

So he kept on swinging the sword even when his arms felt like they were burning. He didn't try to go for any big swings lest he leave himself wide open. He kept it to swings he could control easily with what little training he had. It was working for him and he was able to kill any Uruk that was coming at him.

Unbeknownst to any of them, Lurtz was standing at the outskirts of the battle, watching it with an analytical eye and with nocked bow in hand. He saw the blood-eyes in the elf and had been confused, for Saruman had told him it would be a man. Yet, there was an elf with black hair and blood-eyes standing right there and fighting off his Uruks. Perhaps Saruman had been mistaken about who had the blood-eyes?

He reached down for a small vial that was given to him by Saruman. The White Wizard had told him to use specifically for the blood-eyes, saying that it would shut down the energy he would use and put him into a coma. While he still wasn't sure if this was the right person, he would not let such a chance to slip by him. He opened the vial and poured the green glop inside onto the arrow he had nocked. Once the tip of the arrow had been covered, he pulled the bowstring back and released it, firing the arrow at the blood eyes.

In the time the arrow was fired and was flying straight at its intended target, Boromir saw coming and where it was flying towards. "Look out!" he cried, shoving Izuna aside.

Izuna was looking in the opposite direction when he heard those words and was surprised when he felt himself get shoved. The half-elf fell to the ground, losing his grip on the sword. When he turned around to see what that was all about, he saw a horrifying sight: Boromir standing before him with an arrow in his side.

Lurtz growled angrily at the failure of the arrow. "Get in there!" he ordered his second-in-command, shoving him forward. The Uruk did as he was ordered, charging into the fight with several more Uruks at his back.

Boromir felt pain like he had never felt before burning from his side but he would not let that stop him. With a shout, he turned back around to face the Uruk-hai. He killed more of them as they kept coming at him until the strength in his arms disappeared and his sword fell from his fingers. The Uruks didn't bother to kill him. They just swatted him aside like he was nothing.

"Boromir!" cried Izuna, scrambling back to his feet. He was reaching for his right wrist when an Uruk slugged him hard across the face, making him spit out blood and becoming nauseously dizzy. The end of an axe's shaft finished him, knocking him unconscious and making him fall to the ground.

Both Merry and Pippin could only stand and watch in shock as this all happen. Realizing that they had to do something, they dropped the stone that lay in the palms of their hands, grabbed their swords and daggers, and charged forward to protect their friends with a cry of defiance on their lips.

But their plan did not work. The Uruk-hai did not even bother to try fighting the two hobbits. They just grabbed them and lifted them up into holding positions, making them drop their weapons. Izuna's unconscious body was also picked up. Once they were grabbed, the host of Uruk-hai began to run away with the two hobbits and half-elf, breaking the swords and daggers the hobbits had tried to wield beneath their feet.

Boromir felt too weak to do anything to stop what was happening. He tried to rise up from where he had been knocked down, but a foot seemingly appeared out of nowhere and pressed him back down to the ground. When he looked up to see who the foot belonged too, he saw it was an Uruk-hai with a bow. They were the only two left alive in the area.

Lurtz had an arrow nocked and drawn, pointing it directly at the Man. He let out a snarl of satisfaction as he aimed the arrow. Boromir knew he was a dead man when he saw the arrow being drawn back. There was nothing he would be able to do. The only thing he could do was close his eyes and prey. _"Eru, Father of All, take me gently to the Halls of Mandos and let me judged with mercy."_

But to his surprise, there was no arrow. Instead, what he heard was the sound of one body slamming into another and a surprise snarl of anger from the Uruk-hai. When he opened his eyes, he saw that Aragorn was now fighting the Uruk-hai. His heart was filled with relief at the sight, even though he still felt weak.

The Ranger from the North had been glad to have reached the scene just before the Uruk had fired that arrow. He slammed into the Uruk, making the arrow fly somewhere else and the two of them away from Boromir. When he stood, ready to fight, he saw that Lurtz had already grabbed a sword and shield.

Without saying a word, the two of them leapt at one another. The proceeding fight was more akin to a brawl then an actual fight. More fists were used then swords, especially after Lurtz pinned the man to a tree with his shield. Aragorn was able to himself in time to save his head, but the fact that it had happened surprised him.

Their fight almost turned into a wrestling match when Lurtz tried to reach for him when he was momentarily sitting beneath the tree. Instead, he punched the Uruk in its stomach, drew the dagger that had been a gift from Lord Celeborn, and plunged it into the Uruk's leg.

Lurtz roared with pain and frustration with he felt the dagger pierce his flesh. He grabbed hold of the man and tossed him away from the tree. In a show of strength and rejection, he pulled the dagger out of his leg, licked the blood on the blade extensively, and then threw it at the man.

Aragorn could barely lift his sword up in time to swing at the incoming dagger, swatting it away. He stood back up and charged Lurtz, hitting the Uruk in the stomach with his shoulder. The attack pushed the Uruk back and when he leapt away, it gave him more room to fight with.

Lurtz was undeterred and attack the man again, this time with only a sword. Again, it was more of a brawl then a swordfight. Whenever they could, they would punch each other with a free hand. And yet, Aragorn looked worse than the Uruk did. That didn't make him stop in the fight. If anything, it made him fight on.

They went back and forth against one another, moving around in the area. Aragorn was using every trick he knew to kill the Uruk, but Lurtz kept coming at him with rage-filled strength. The man did not know if he would be able to win this fight while the Uruk just wanted to kill him. They were both surprised to see a sword suddenly burst out of the Uruk's stomach.

While Lurtz roared in pain again, Aragorn took the opportunity to swing his sword and behead the first Uruk-hai that had been created. As the headless body of the creature fell to the ground, he looked to see Boromir on his knees behind it, his hand weakly gripping the sword. He then fell to the side, what strength he had mustered to crawl and then stab the Uruk leaving him.

"No," Aragorn said in horror, instantly going to the Captain-General's side. He rolled him over so they could see each other face-to-face.

"They took the little ones!" Boromir told him with a gasp of breath. "They took Izuna!"

"Hold still," he said, trying to see if there were any injuries beside the arrow. So far, there were none.

"Frodo, where is Frodo?"

His hands stilled for a moment when he heard those words. "I let Frodo go," he admitted. He had been afraid that the man from Gondor would be angry to hear those words.

Instead, he smiled with relief. "Then you did what I could not. I tried to take the Ring from him," he confessed.

"The Ring is beyond our reach now."

"Forgive me. I did not see it. I have failed you all." Tears threatened to leak out from his eyes at those words.

"No, Boromir," Aragorn disagreed with him. "You fought bravely. You kept your honor." The sound of feet running lightly on the ground filled his ears and when he looked back, he saw Legolas coming towards him. "Help me, Legolas!" he called out to the elf prince. "Boromir's been shot!" Legolas did not waste time coming to his side and helping him heal the Captain-General of Gondor.

(Location: Frodo)

He stood at the bank of the river, staring at the river and the other bank where the path to Mordor lay. The Ring was still in his hand and it felt heavy. _"I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened."_ The words he had said in Moria came back to him as he looked down at the Ring. Tears leaked out from his eyes as he torn them away from his burden.

But even as he remembered those words, the words of Gandalf came to him as well. _"So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All you have to decide is what to do with the time given to you."_ And he had decided.

With a renewed resolve, he closed his fist around the Ring and placed it in his pocket. He went for one of the boats, only to stop when he heard someone else standing on the bank with him. He turned his head to see and saw it was Sasuke. "Don't try to stop me, Sasuke," he said with his hands still on the boat. "I have to do this."

The raven-haired shinobi did not say anything at first. Instead, he just looked at the hobbit. "I won't stop you, Frodo," he finally said. "But don't go alone."

"I must travel alone," the Ringbearer said, turning his attention back to the boat, pushing it out onto the river.

"That was my mistake," Sasuke's voice carried over the air and into his ears. When he turned back, the shinobi was walking away.

Sasuke wasn't worried about Frodo, though. He was confident that a very loyal gardener would reach him in time.

* * *

"Hurry!" said Legolas as he pushed a boat into the river. "Frodo and Sam have reached the eastern shore." The remaining members of the Fellowship had reached the bank just to see the two hobbits disappear into the trees on the other shore. When no one else joined the elf in pushing the boat, he turned to see them all just standing there. "You mean not to follow them," he said to Aragorn.

"Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands," the Ranger replied. Boromir looked away at those words. His face was a bit pale due to the blood he lost. But he did have the arrow safely taken out.

"Then it is all been in vain," Gimli declared, walking back towards them from where he stood. "The Fellowship has failed."

For a long moment, no one said anything and it seemed like those words were true. But then Aragorn roused their spirits. "Not if we hold true to each other," he told them all. "We will not abandon Merry, Pippin, and Izuna to torment and death. Not while we have strength left."

"I'll agree with that," Sasuke said from where he stood near the woods. He was not done with his student.

Aragorn went back to the supplies left on the shore and picked the dagger he had gifted with, having retrieved it earlier. "Leave all that can be spared behind. We travel light," he declared as he sheathed the dagger. "Let's hunt some orc." He turned and went back into the woods, with Boromir right on his heels.

Sasuke soon followed, leaving the elf and the dwarf on the bank of the river. But it did not stay like that for long. "Yes!" Gimli agreed passionately, running after the men with a laugh. Legolas was right beside him. Together, the five members of the Fellowship went on the hunt.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

We now have a change in the story, Boromir's still alive. That might be a bit of a Fanfiction cliché, but there's a reason.

As for why Izuna didn't whip out Aeglos at the beginning, he's still young by elf standards and this was his first battle. He wasn't going to be thinking straight.

From here on out, Frodo and Sam's journey will be pretty much the same. So I won't cover it (what would be the point if I did?).

I'll see you all next chapter!


	11. The hunters and the hunted

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 11: The hunters and the hunted

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Uruk-hai host)

They ran fast and hard from the western bank of the River Anduin, stopping only to rest when they had to. As they ran, the forests that covered the western bank began to thin out until they were completely replaced with hilly and rocky land.

As they ran through a small rocky valley that was created by two little cliffs, Pippin tried to make sure his friend was okay. "Merry! Merry!" he said, trying to get the attention of his friend. But Merry was unconscious. Both the hobbits and the half-elf had their hands bounded, but only Merry and Pippin were being carried. Izuna had been forced to run on his own legs.

All of a sudden, the Uruk-hai stopped to a halt. In the large rocks before them, orcs came into view. But these were orcs of Mordor, sent by Sauron to Saruman, technically as a gift, but to really keep an eye on the White Wizard (he might've had control over the Istari, but that did not mean Sauron trusted him completely).

"You're late!" the leader of the Mordor orcs, Grishnákh, snapped at the Uruk-hai. "Our master grows impatient. He wants the Shire-rats now!"

Lurtz's second-in-command, Uglúk, had taken over command when it had become apparent that their leader was dead. Since he was an Uruk-hai, he looked down at the orcs of Mordor, thinking themselves to be lesser and inferior creatures. "I don't take orders from orc-maggots!" he snarled at Grishnákh. "Saruman will have his prize. We will deliver them!"

It was obvious to anyone who could look that the two different kinds of orc had separate masters. But since the so-called "prize" was in the hands of the Uruk-hai, that was the plan the orcs of Mordor were forced to go with, maintaining the image of loyalty to the White Wizard (that didn't stop Grishnákh from mocking Uglúk with miming speech once the Uruk's back was turned).

At that point, Merry started to moan. "Merry!" said Pippin, seeing his fellow hobbit move his head. But he was still unconscious. "Merry? Wake up!" It wasn't doing anything. During the run from the Anduin, Merry had been struck on the head, knocking him unconscious and making the wound on his head bleed.

Pippin didn't what to do. Deciding to take a risk, he looked to a nearby Uruk who was taking a drink from a flask. "My friend is sick," he said. "He needs water, please."

Uglúk heard the hobbit and turned back to see what was going on. "Sick, is he?" he repeated with a cruel tone to his voice. "Give him some medicine, boys!" A nearby Uruk-hai roared in response, pulled out his own flask, and proceeded to pour its contents down the throat of the Brandybuck. Whatever the liquid was, it was a foul thing that managed to offend both the nose as well as the tongue and was clearly not water.

As the stuff went down Merry's throat, he began to choke on it somewhat. "Stop it!" Pippin told the Uruk with the flask, who only ignored him.

"Can't take his draught!" declared Uglúk with an ugly laugh, making the rest of the Uruk-hai laugh with him.

"Leave him alone!"

The leader of the Uruk-hai turned his attention to the still conscious hobbit. "Why? You want some?" he threatened. "Huh?" All he got was scared silence. "Then keep your trap shut!"

"You coward!" spoke Izuna's voice from the back of the host.

Uglúk turned in the direction of the voice. "What was that?" he demanded, pushing through the Uruk's until he was standing in front of the speaker.

Even when his hands were bound together as well as a rope, Izuna was still defiant. "You heard me," he said, spitting at the Uruk's feet. "You are a coward who would rather torment bound prisoners then face them free-handed!"

The Uruks standing around him snarled and growled at those words. But they also looked at their leader. If he showed weakness, his position would soon be open. But Uglúk did not show weakness. "You want me to fight me, maggot?" he asked Izuna before driving his fist into the half-elf's stomach. "You'll have no luck. Saruman wants you alive. But I'm sure he won't mind if you come with a couple of broken bones. And you'll get them if you keep talking." He turned away, not seeing Izuna hiding something in his hand.

As he walked away, Merry came to. "Merry," Pippin said once he realized that fact.

"Hello, Pip," Merry said with a tiredness in his voice.

"You're hurt."

"I'm fine," he assured him. "It was just an act."

"An act?" repeated Pippin, surprised by those words.

"See? I fooled you too." His smile faded away. "Don't worry about me, Pippin."

One of the Uruk-hai in the front of the host began sniffing the air, having caught something on the air. "What is it?" Uglúk demanded once he saw the Uruk sniffing the air. "What do you smell?"

"Man-flesh," the Uruk replied. Those two words made the rest of the orcs and Uruk-hai look around the area.

"They picked up our trail," the Uruk-hai growled in realization.

"Aragorn," Pippin said in a whisper.

"Sensei," Izuna whispered to himself, a hope growing in his heart.

"LET'S MOVE!" bellowed Uglúk. The Uruk-hai and the orcs began running again, putting more distance between them and the man-flesh. As they ran away, Pippin realized that he needed to leave some sort of clue. Looking down at the brooch holding his cloak, he saw his clue. He used his teeth to tear it off and spit it out onto the ground. Hopefully, Aragorn and the others would be able to find it.

(Location: Sasuke)

"Things are much harder than I originally thought," Sasuke admitted from atop his rock.

"**What did you expect?"** Indra's image asked him, sitting on his own rock.

"I don't know. But what I do know that if Saruman is with Sauron, the West might be on the verge of a pincer hold." If Saruman attacked from the north and Sauron from the east, the outcome would be very favorable for them. "We're going to need help."

"**And how should I care about this?"**

"I did not say that you would." He was talking to the original him, so to speak. He knew what would be said.

"**Then you have no business speaking to me. Leave until you actually have something to say."**

The rock garden disappeared and he found himself back in the real world. _"Did Naruto have to deal with the Kyūbi like that?"_ he idly wondered as he stood up from where he sat on a small boulder. He wasn't a Jinchūriki, so he had no idea. This was probably as close as he was going to get.

He took a moment to look over at Boromir, who was sitting against a boulder. The Captain-General looked better than he did at the River Anduin, with more color on his face than before. But there were still those moments when he looked like he wouldn't be able to take another step. Hopefully, those moments would not last.

"Their pace has quickened," Aragorn spoke from where he laid on a large rock with his ear on it, using a trick he had learned from his years as a Ranger. "They must have caught our scent." He all but leapt up from the rock. "Hurry!" he called out to the others as he started to run.

Sasuke and Boromir were right behind him and Legolas was not far behind. "Come on, Gimli!" he shouted to the last of them before running off.

Gimli stood up from where he had sat down, breathing heavily. "Three days and nights pursuit," he said to himself. "No food, no rest, and no sign of our quarry, but what bare rock can tell!" But that didn't stop him from going after the other four. Once he got his energy back, he started to run as well.

They had been tracking the host of Uruk-hai for as long as the dwarf had said. It was hard going but with each second, they were getting closer and closer to the Uruk-hai and their captured friends. That was what kept them going when one of them felt like they were about to drop. It also helped that when one looked like he was about to drop, one of the others would challenge him to a small race, just to get the competitive spirit going (it was used mostly on Gimli).

But even as they chased after the Uruk-hai, it felt sometimes like they weren't getting any closer to their prey. All they had to go on was the multitude of faint tracks left in the wake of the Uruk-hai. There was no sight of the creatures themselves. But they did not stop. They kept going. They had to keep going.

But their hunt produced fruit at times. As they ran through a valley, Aragorn saw something in the ground. Kneeling down, he pulled the thing, recognizing its shape once he saw all of it. "Not idly do the leaves of Lórien fall," he declared as he looked upon a leaf brooch.

Legolas stopped when he saw what was in the Ranger's hand. "They may yet be alive," he said in realization.

Boromir had been by Aragorn's side when he picked it up and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Eru," he said.

The Ranger amongst them got back onto his feet. "Less than a day ahead of us," he said to the others. "Come!" He started running and the others followed.

Gimli was the last one to follow, falling down a slope that the rest of them had come down to enter the valley. "Come, Gimli!" Legolas told him while still running. "We are gaining on them!"

"I'm wasted on cross-country," he shouted back as he chased them. "We Dwarves are natural sprinters: very dangerous over short distances!"

"So you won't mind if I decided to race you for the next mile and win do you?" Sasuke asked him from where he ran, looking back at the dwarf.

That got him up and rearing. "I did not say that, lad! Now hold still so that I may beat you!" He began to pick up his pace in order to catch up.

"No chance," the shinobi told him, keeping the pace he was running at (which was a little slower than his usual speed).

"Get back here!" The two of them raced one another for that mile, keeping up with the rest of the group.

Their little race did not last that much longer. When they got up with the rest of the group, they had all stopped to look at the land before them. It was a vast plain that seemed to go on forever and was littered with clusters of rocks. The rocks were not so many that it was more rock then grass. It was the opposite.

Aragorn knew where they were. "Rohan, home of the Horse-lords," he said to the others.

"King Théoden still ruled when I had left Minas-Tirith," Boromir told them, adding his two cents.

Sasuke had been in Rohan before, having crisscrossed it multiple times before in his wanderings. The people who lived there in scattered villages and small towns had always given him odd looks when he refused a horse. Some of the younger villagers always challenged him to a race and he always refused. But aside from those things, he found the people likable enough.

But Aragorn saw something else. "There's something strange at work here," he said. "Some evil give speeds to these creatures, sets its will against us."

"We should keep going," Boromir suggest. They all agreed with the idea and they moved down the slopes, their speed quickening slightly.

Legolas went down the slope first and got a clear view of the surrounding area. "Legolas, what do your Elf-eyes see?" Aragorn called out to him.

He looked and saw what they were looking for. "The Uruks turn northwest," he told them all. His eyes widened slightly as he realized what that meant, yet still he tracked them. "They are taking the Hobbits to Isengard!"

"Saruman," the Ranger said to himself.

Boromir came to a sudden realization. "He knew that a hobbit carried the Ring, but he didn't know who it was. That's why Merry and Pippin were taken!"

"That may be, but why was Izuna taken as well?"

"You know the answer to that, Aragorn," Sasuke said to him, coming beside the Ranger. "We all know the answer to that." They quickly caught up to Legolas.

"I'm not sure I do, Crabandir," the elf prince said to him.

"Yes, you do. Everyone on Amon Hen heard the shout that Uruk leader roared." They did. It wasn't like they could forget it.

"_FIND THE HALFLING AND THE BLOOD-EYED PERSON! FIND THEM!"_

It was that shout that made fight all the harder on the hill, to protect Frodo from being captured. But the Ringbearer wasn't the only target. "You don't think that…" Boromir started to ask, only to trail off.

But Sasuke nodded. "I do. Saruman wanted his creatures to capture me for my eyes. There was no possible way he could've know about Izuna in the time we left Lothlórien. The Uruks must've thought that he was the target and took him. If they get him to Saruman, the Wizard will try to use him to breed the **Sharingan** into his next batch of creatures."

That thought burrowed deep into their minds and stayed there as a constant image. Those who weren't an Uchiha had seen the **Sharingan** in action. If Uruk-hai had those for eyes, it would not be something they wished to face. But Sasuke had a different fear then them. What he was afraid was if they got Izuna to Saruman and the White Wizard would be able to figure out to breed the **Mangekyō Sharingan** into his creatures. That was a terrifying thought just by itself.

"Durin's Beard!" swore Gimli. "We cannot let that happen!"

"Then we must make haste," Legolas said, taking off again. "They run as if the very whips of their masters are behind them!"

They all took after him, Gimli being in the back. "Keep breathing. That's the key. Breathe," he told himself as he followed the others.

(Location: Uruk-hai host)

The two hobbits and half-elf were thrown to the ground with no care to them. The Mordor orcs were on their knees, gasping for breath. "We're not going no further…'til we've had a breather!" one of the orcs declared loudly while wheezing for his life.

"_Pathetic,"_ Uglúk thought to himself with a silent snarl. They would've been able to cover more ground if these orcs weren't slowing them down. But there was nothing he could do about it now. "Get a fire going!" he shouted.

Some of the Uruks went for the trees nearby. The orcs had virtually collapsed at the edge of a forest. But while they were chopping wood, Pippin was crawling over to his friend. "Merry! Merry!" he said as he crawled.

Merry looked at his friend with a slight shocked look, as if he realized all that had happened to them really did happen. "I think we might've made a mistake leaving the Shire, Pippin," he said quietly. He raised his head a little, trying to find something. "Where's Izuna?"

Pippin looked around too and found him. "There he is. They put him on the other side of the camp." The strange thing was that the half-elf was doing something with his hands, keeping them out of sight and moving them back and forth. When he saw the gaze of the hobbits, he raised a finger to his lips, telling them to be quiet.

As the Uruk-hai chopped off branches from the trees on the edge of the forest, there was a loud groan that came from deeper in the forest. While the Uruks and the orcs ignored it, the others did not. "What's making that noise?" Pippin asked Merry. Both of them had seen Izuna take a quick look at the forest before returning back to what he was doing, so they knew that he had heard it too.

Merry took a longer look at the forest and realized what the sound was. "It's the trees," he said in a whisper.

"What?" Pippin asked.

"You remember the Old Forest, on the borders of Buckland? Folk used to say there was something in the water that made the tree grow tall…and come alive."

"Alive?" he repeated.

"Trees that could whisper…talk to each other…even move," Merry told him. That was a chilling thought for the both of them. If trees could walk and talk, what would happen if they found out about what the Uruks were doing?

The Uruks in question didn't particularly care about what the forest might think. They were more focused on something else: their stomachs. "I'm starving," one Uruk declared. "We ain't had nothing but maggoty beard for three stinking days!" He held up a piece of said beard to show his point before throwing it to the ground.

"Yeah!" agreed a Mordor orc. "Why can't we have some meat?" He looked around the camp and spotted the two hobbits, who noticed his gaze. "What about them? They're fresh."

Uglúk heard those words and took a threatening step towards the orc. "They are not for eating!" he said warningly. The orc didn't say anything, he just continued to stare.

Without any warning, Merry and Pippin were dragged up onto their feet by an orc and were forced to stand before the rest of the creatures there. "What about their legs?" Grishnákh asked as he looked at them. "They don't need those." Merry looked at his legs and then back at him with an expression of surprise and horror. "Ooh, they looked tasty."

He reached out for them and Uglúk went to push him back. But to the surprise of everyone there, Izuna suddenly appeared and slammed into the orc. "Keep away from them!" he shouted as they fell to the ground. His hands were still bound, but that didn't mean he couldn't keep the orc down. But before he could do anything, he was pulled off of the orc and shoved away. He got right back up on his feet and looked defiantly at the Uruks and orcs there. "The next one who tries to come for them will get skewered!" he threatened them.

That made them all laugh; for they could see that his hands were still bound together. "Shut up, maggot," Uglúk snarled at him before turning to look at Grishnákh. "The prisoners go to Saruman, alive and unspoiled."

"Alive?" repeated the orc, looking past him to see the hobbits. "Why alive? Do they give good sport?" Guttural sounds came from his mouth and tongue as he spoke those words.

"They have something, an Elvish weapon. The master wants it for the war."

Both the hobbits realized what he was talking about, even if he was making it sound like something else completely. "They think we have the Ring," Pippin whispered to Merry.

"Ssh!" Merry whispered back. "As soon as they find out we don't, we're dead."

"And what about him?" he asked, looking at the half-elf amongst them. "Why does Saruman want him?"

"He has something the master wants as well."

"What would that be?"

"That's none of your business, scum," Uglúk growled at him.

"I'd say it is, and I also say he's come with us!" He made a grab for the half-elf, only to get pushed away by the Uruk-hai.

The two different kinds of orcs stood on their own sides, snarling and growling at the other. "You reach out again and I'll cut your arm off," Uglúk warned Grishnákh. "I already told you: the prisoners go to Saruman, alive and unspoiled."

"And you think you'll bring them to him?" the Mordor orc challenged.

"I do and I don't care if I have to kill a few miserable orcs to do it."

As the proverbial chest-thumping continued, the hobbits and the half-elf just watched in silence. But since they were watching what was in front of them, they were not looking at what was behind them. And what was sneaking up behind them was the Mordor orc who first wondered about eating the hobbits. He was sneaking up to them, keeping low so that the Uruks would not see him.

But once he got in close, he stood up and raised his sword up as well. "Just a mouthful, a bit off the flank," he said aloud as he looked down at the hobbits. His mouth was already watering at the prospect of fresh meat.

He didn't get the fresh meat. What he got instead was the sudden feeling of a weapon going through his head like it was nothing. Everyone else just looked on in shock as Izuna's bindings seemingly fell away, Aeglos appeared out of nowhere into his hands, and he plunged its tip into the orc's head.

He pulled the glaive out and swung it around in the air, making all the Uruks and orc close to him and the hobbits back away. "Step back, all of you!" he shouted at them, keeping the glaive at the ready. "I will kill anyone who gets close!"

"What the hell do you think you're doing, maggot!?" Uglúk demanded, looking very angry. "How are your hands not bound?"

All the half-elf did was slightly release the grip he had on the glaive. It was enough to let what was in his hand fall to the ground. It was a small knife, made in the crude fashion of orcs. "You should be careful about who you punch."

The leader of the Uruk-hai snarled, but did nothing. Grishnákh, on the other hand, did. "Kill him!" he ordered. One of the orcs moved to do as he was commanded, but was swiftly beheaded by Uglúk.

"Keep back, scum!" the leader of the Uruk-hai snarled at the orcs. The rest of the Uruks joined their leader at snarling at who they thought were inferior creatures.

"You think you can order me around?" Grishnákh demanded, outraged at the mere thought. He looked at the rest of the orcs there. "Gut them!"

"Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys!" Uglúk shouted, making the rest of the Uruk-hai roar in approval. The two kinds of orc charged at each other with weapons drawn. The prisoners were pushed aside to make way for bloodlust.

Izuna was surprised to see it turn out like this. He had honestly thought that he and the hobbits were going to have to fight their way out of this problem. But his sensei had taught him to take advantage of any and all opportunities that would be beneficial and he would do just that. "Merry, Pippin," he said quietly to the hobbits, getting their attention. "Let's go."

They both nodded and the three of them began to crawl away from the fight. They didn't look back, but they could hear the scream of orcs and Uruks killing and being killed. There was also the sound of meat being ripped off and eaten loudly, which sickened them more than they cared to think about. But they didn't stop, they had to get away.

They were about halfway to the forest when someone noticed them. "The prisoners are running!" an Uruk shouted. That got the attention of some Uruks and orcs, most were content on killing one another.

Those who did notice, however, began making their way towards them. "Get up and hold out your arms!" Izuna told the hobbits, scrambling up onto his feet. The hobbits did the same and held out their hands like they were told. He quickly cut through their bindings, freeing their hands. "Run! I'll hold them off."

He turned around and engaged the Uruks and orcs while Merry and Pippin ran into the forest. The enemies he was fighting off tried to get past him, but he wouldn't let that happen, killing the first few who tried. The rest of them settled for trying to kill him before going after the hobbits.

The only thing he could do was pray to Eru that the rest of the host would be too busy killing each other that they would realize what was happening. The few that he was fighting had his attention and he was making sure that they would not stop the hobbits from fleeing. The only problem was how he was going to get out.

Grishnákh, who had joined the attack on him, thought differently. "I'm going to enjoy ripping your ears off, elf!" he spat at Izuna.

The half-elf didn't have time to reply, because what came next was a surprise for all of them. A javelin buried itself in an orc's back, making it screamed in pain. That made all the orcs and Uruks look at where the javelin had been thrown.

A virtual flood of horsemen came charging out of the night. The Uruks of Isengard and the orcs of Mordor, who had been butchering each other just a few seconds ago, leapt to attack but it was too late for them. The camp that they had made became a slaughter.

Izuna saw his opportunity to flee and took it. He kicked Grishnákh away and sliced his arm, trying to cut it off but only making it bleed. Not wanting to stay around, he turned and ran for the forest edge.

"Wait!" he heard someone call out to him, but he was not going to wait. He needed to stay with Merry and Pippin. Within five seconds, he had disappeared into the forest. But he had a chaser coming after him.

(Location: the Hunters)

They had been running through the night. But the light of the sun broke over the horizon; Legolas looked back at the light. "A red sun rises," he said to the others. "Blood has been spilled this night "

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

That conversation Sasuke had with Indra will come back around; it's not a once-off.

It's not that hard to see different kinds of orcs hate each other in this universe. That was probably why the menu line was used.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	12. Horrible news

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 12: Horrible news

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: the Hunters)

Even as the sun rose up from the horizon and into the sky itself, they kept running after the Uruk-hai host. Aragorn would kneel down every so often to check the tracks before getting back and leading the path. "How far behind are we?" Boromir asked him after he stood back up for a fifth time.

"I would say a half a day," he answered. "With any luck, we will find them soon."

"Then we must go on." His failure at Amon Hen filled him with guilt and drove him onward, but Legolas's prediction that dawn filled him with dread and made him run faster.

He wasn't alone in regards to the elf's prediction. They had all been running faster since then. Aragorn did not say a word in response to what the Captain-General had said. All he did was nod in agreement and started running.

"How are you doing, Gimli?" Sasuke asked, looking back at the dwarf, who was still in the back of the group.

"I am perfectly fine, lad," he replied, keeping his stubborn pace. "But if you ask me that question again, I will hack your arms off!"

"You said that the last five times I asked how you were doing."

"And if you were standing beside me when you had asked, I would have done it!"

He smiled so slightly, people who didn't know him would not have been able to see it. "Good to know," he told the dwarf. "Keep up." Just to give him a little more incentive, he increased his speed.

"Get back here, lad!" the son of Glóin shouted at his back, increasing his pace.

"Must you antagonize him, Crabandir?" Legolas asked him with a slightly pained expression on his face.

"It keeps him going," he answered shortly.

"Yes, but I am worried that he will collapse of exhaustion." The dwarf had looked like that for some time now.

"He won't."

"How do you know that?"

He looked at him. "And here I thought an Elf would know about how stubborn a Dwarf could be." Legolas had nothing to say back to that.

"Will you get back here already?" Gimli shouted up at the raven-haired shinobi.

"I was never there to being with," he shouted back.

"Just you wait, lad! I'll make you regret those words!"

For another hour they kept running. They stood on a low, practically tiny, ridge when Aragorn knelt down to check the tracks of the Uruk-hai. But as he examined what was in front of him, they all heard a faint whinny in the air. They all looked at the direction the whinny came from but they could see nothing but the land. "That's not orcs," Sasuke said.

"No, it is not," Aragorn told him. "It is an Éored of Rohirrim. They are coming this way." Already they could hear the thunder of hooves on the earth.

"We should get out of the way," Boromir said to all of them. "The Rohirrim would not hesitate to run unannounced strangers down."

They all silently agreed to the idea and quickly hid themselves behind a cluster of rocks. Gimli had just been able to join them as the riders appeared over the ridge. As he watched them thundered past, Sasuke could see how well-coordinated the horsemen were. Their armor and weapons may have varied somewhat, but the way they rode their horses showed that they have trained as a group and trained well. They moved as a unit.

When they passed down the ridge and out of the way of being run down, Aragorn came out of the cluster and looked down the ridge. "Riders of Rohan!" he shouted down at the horsemen. "What news from the Mark?"

"_Is he crazy?"_ Sasuke asked silently. They were trying to avoid getting run down and now the Ranger was calling out to them. Thar was something Naruto would do!

Well, there was no way they could try to fix it now. The rider in the front lifted the spear in his right hand and the entire company of horsemen essentially did a U-turn. As the rest of the hunters came out of hiding, the Rohirrim rode back up the ridge and began to encircle them.

They did not go straight to it. Instead, they did in a circling motion, putting layer on layer of horseflesh between them and any path to freedom they might've wanted to take. Their sight was also impaired by the horses still moving into place, always in a circling motion.

Once all the horsemen had entrapped the Hunters in a circle, they lowered their spears at them. Aragorn raised his hands to show that he was holding no weapon. "Peace, we mean peace," he told them.

One horseman rode through the ranks so he could see them. "What business does an Elf, a Dwarf, and three Men have in the Riddermark?" he demanded. "Speak quickly!" It was obvious that this man was the leader of the company. One could tell by his armor, his weapons, and the fact that he spoke first.

"Give me your name, horse-master, and I shall give you mine," Gimli said in reply, looking at him. The dwarf was ready for what would come next, only stopping himself when Aragorn placed a gentle but restraining hand on his shoulder.

That proved to be the wrong thing to say. The leader of the horsemen held his spear to be taken and it was. Once his hands were free, he dismounted and walked towards the Hunters. "I would cut off your head, Dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground," he said to Gimli.

Legolas took that to be a threat against his fellow Hunter and friend. In an instant, he had an arrow nocked and drawn. "You hold die before your stroke fell!" he told the leader, pointing the arrow at him. In response to the threat, the horsemen raised their spears, ready to throw them with deadly effect.

But before a spear could be thrown or the arrow released, they all heard the sound of a blade being drawn quickly. In the next instant, the tip of the arrow fell to the ground. "Legolas, that's one arrow against a hundred or more spears," Sasuke said as he sheathed his katana. "Do the math."

The elf prince still held the bowstring taunt until Aragorn placed his hand on his arm and gently pushed it down until it was no longer pointed at the leader of the horsemen. Once that was done, he turned the leader himself. "I'm Aragorn, son of Arathorn," he introduced himself. "This is Gimli, son Glóin." He looked at the dwarf. "Legolas of the Woodland Realm," he said as he gestured to the elf. "This man is—"

"Lord Boromir of the White City," the leader of the Rohirrim interrupted him, taking his helmet off and bowing his head to the Captain-General. "Forgive me, my lord, for not recognizing you sooner." When they heard their leader speak that way to the man from Gondor, the horsemen surrounding them lifted their spears.

"Third Marshall Éomer," Boromir replied with surprise in his voice before he bowed his head too. "It is I who must ask for forgiveness. It has been some time since we had seen one another."

"There is no need to ask for forgiveness, my lord. You are still a friend of Rohan." The man now known as Éomer turned his attention to the last person standing in the middle of his Éored. "You, you are the one they call the Bell Man," he said with narrowed eyes.

"That's one name people have called me," Sasuke said indifferently.

"I do not see your bells or your hat."

"They got destroyed and I left them behind."

"Lord Éomer, you know this man?" Boromir asked the Third Marshall.

"I know of him," he answered. "I heard stories of how he hunts orcs who steal children and brings those children back to their homes. And I was there when he brought a group of such children to Edoras." A frown then marred his face. "But I also remember how much he spoke to Wormtongue, which makes me wonder if you are not in league with him." The horsemen heard the threat in their Marshall's voice and raised their spears once more to strike down the enemy. It was because of Gríma Wormtongue that they were here.

But Sasuke did not show fear at the sight of the spears. "My speaking to the man was how the children were doing back in their homes with their families. Once he had told me that all was well, I had asked for a book of the history of Rohan, which he provided. That was all we spoke to one another."

"This is Sasuke, son of Fugaku, of the Uchiha clan," Aragorn introduced him to the Third Marshall, stumbling slightly over the foreign words.

Éomer looked at the Ranger and then at the Bell Man. "Those names sound strange to my ears and my tongue."

"No stranger than yours are to mine," Sasuke replied with ease. "But we mean no harm to you or to your country."

"Yes," Boromir agreed. "We five are friends of Rohan and of Théoden King."

A brief look of sorrow passed over the Third Marshall's face before it disappeared. "Théoden no longer recognizes friend from foe," he told them.

"What has happened?"

"Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king and claimed lordship over these lands. My company are those loyal to Rohan. And for that, we are banished." He narrowed his eyes. "The White Wizard is cunning. He walks here and there, they say, as an old man, hooded and cloaked. And everywhere, his spies slip past out nets."

"Lord Éomer, you would think me to be a spy?" Boromir asked. He was shocked to hear such a thing from one he considered to be his friend.

"My apologies, Lord Boromir, but while I do know you, I do not know them." He looked at the other four people there, his eyes focusing on the strangely named one. "Especially him, despite what stories I may have heard."

"We aren't spies," Sasuke told him.

"Indeed, we are not," Aragorn agreed. "We track a host of Uruk-hai westward across the plain. They have taken three of our friends captive."

"The Uruks are destroyed," Éomer told him. "We slaughtered them during the night."

The five hunters shared a look at those words. "But there were two hobbits and an elf. Did you two hobbits and an elf with them?" Gimli asked him.

"The hobbits would've been small, Éomer," Boromir said to his friend. "They would've looked like only children to eyes such as ours."

"Lord Éomer," one of the Éored spoke. "May I speak?"

"You may," the Third Marshall answered.

"I do not know about any hobbits, but in the midst of the battle, I did see a figure fighting off a few Uruks. I called out to him, but he turned to flee from the battle."

"Which way did he go?" Sasuke asked him, staring intently at him.

"I don't know, the battle was chaotic and dark. Once he fled, I did not focus on him." His face took on an apologetic expression. "I am sorry for not telling you more."

"What about the Uruks?" Aragorn asked.

"We left none alive. We piled the carcasses and burned them," Éomer told him, pointing at the large cloud of smoke that rose up in the distance.

The Hunters could only look at the rising cloud. "They're all dead?" asked Gimli.

He nodded. "I am sorry." They said nothing in reply, so he turned and whistled sharply. "Hasufel, Arod!" he called out. Two horses came through the circle and to his hand, which stoke their necks gently but briefly.

"May these horses bear you to better fortune then their former masters," he said to them, letting them take the reins of the horses. "Farewell." He turned back to his horse, putting his helmet back on his head.

Aragorn and Legolas, the ones holding the reins, were silent as they looked at the horses. They heard a horse moving forward and saw the Third Marshall moving forward. "Look for your friends," he told them all, spear in hand again. "But do not trust to hope."

"What else can we do, Éomer?" Boromir asked him.

"I don't know, Boromir. But hope as forsaken these lands." He looked at his Éored. "We ride north!" he told them in a loud voice.

He moved forward and the circle of Rohirrim broke apart, following their leader as he rode away. Within seconds, they rode after him, leaving the Hunters standing there with the horse given to them. And soon, they were alone.

"We must make haste," Aragorn said, climbing onto one of the horse's saddle and helping Boromir up behind him. Legolas did the same on the other horse and although he grumbled a little about what was happening, Gimli got on behind him.

"We will not leave you behind, Crabandir," the elf told Sasuke. "We will keep the pace of the horses at a modest pace."

"Don't bother," Sasuke told him. "I'll be able to keep up." The horses rode off toward the smoke and he followed them. True to his words, he was able to keep up with them. The others would've been surprised by this, if they were not so focused on riding towards the smoke.

(Location: Izuna)

"Merry! Pippin!" he called out as he ran through the forest. He had run nonstop during the night through the forest, trying to find the hobbits. But as the day dawned, he had no luck finding them. But what also made him nervous was the feeling that he was not alone in this forest. He had no idea where he was and that made him all the more worrisome.

"_Don't think about that, Izuna,"_ he told himself. _"You have to find the hobbits. Keep moving!"_ And he did just that. He kept moving.

All he heard as he walked through the forest was his own footsteps echoing all around him. It was unnerving and it added to the feeling that he wasn't alone. But he chose not to think about it. He would not let it fill his mind with fear and uncertainty.

But it did feel like there was something else out there in the forest, watching and waiting. For what, he did not know and he did not want to know. But as he kept running through the forest, it felt like that something was watching him specifically. He thought he felt eyes on him as he ran.

Something flickered in the corner of his eyes, making him stop short. When he turned to look at what it was, he saw nothing. But he could've sworn he saw a piece of armor that was red. _"What was that?"_ he asked himself. "Who's there?" he called out, pointing Aeglos in the direction of the flicker. He received no answer.

But then, the ground felt like it was shaking somewhat, which hadn't happened before. _"What's happening?"_ Izuna wondered as the shaking continued. He didn't know what it was exactly, but he could figure out that it was getting closer to him. When he almost fell to the ground, he realized that it whatever it was, it was almost upon him. He flung himself behind a tree and waited.

He did not wait long. Soon, a walking tree appeared from the forest. _"Wait, that's not a tree,"_ he thought as he watched on, remembering what the Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn had taught him when he could be taught. _"That's an Ent!"_ To his further surprise, he saw that the Ent was holding Merry and Pippin in its hands.

"**Treebeard, some call me,"** the Ent said, speaking to the hobbits in his grip as it walked on. Izuna tried to stay close but out of sight so he could try and stage a rescue.

"And whose side are you on?" asked a clearly nervous Pippin.

"_That's it, Pippin,"_ Izuna thought to himself as he kept close. _"Keep him distracted."_

"**Side?"** repeated Treebeard. **"I am on nobody's side, because nobody's on my side, little Orc. No one cares for the woods anymore!"**

"We're not Orcs!" Merry told the Ent. "We're Hobbits!

"**Hobbits?"** he repeated. **"Never heard of a hobbit before. Sounds like Orc mischief to me!"** He began to get angry and squeezed the two hobbits tighter. **"They come with fire. They come with axes. Gnawing, biting, breaking, hacking, burning! Destroyers and usurpers! Curse them!"**

As he squeezed them tighter, Izuna began to plan to get them free. "No! You don't understand! We're Hobbits! Halflings! Shire-folk!" Merry tried to explain.

"**Maybe you are, and maybe you're not. The White Wizard will know,"** the Ent declared.

When he heard those words, Izuna went still, suddenly afraid. There was only one White Wizard he knew of. That meant that the Ent was in league with Saruman! _"I have to get Merry and Pippin out of there!"_ he thought, gripping Aeglos tightly.

He was surprised to see the Ent drop the hobbits, but he would take it. He burst out from his hiding spot and stood in front of Merry and Pippin. "Keep away!" he shouted at the Ent, waving his glaive to emphasize his point.

"Izuna!" said Pippin, glad to see him alive.

"Not now, Pippin," he told the hobbit. Feeling the light on his back, he whirled around. "You stay back, Saruman!" he warned the Wizard standing before them. But while the half-elf had his weapon at the ready and the hobbit's looked on in shock, he only smiled.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

I didn't do the burning corpses scene because we all know it. Plus, I don't really know how to write how Aragorn tracked differently than before.

Yeah, Izuna actually thinks it's Saruman. He wasn't there when Gandalf fell and fought the Balrog. As for that brief glimpse he saw, I'll leave that up to you guys to figure out.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	13. The shocking discovery

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 13: The shocking discovery

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: the Hunters)

They walked through the forest, hesitation and uncertainty following in their footsteps. When they head reached the pile of burnt Uruk-hai corpses, both Sasuke and Aragorn had found tracks of Izuna and the hobbits respectively. They followed the tracks away from the slaughter that had happened, only to stop before the forest that the tracks had led into. It was no ordinary forest that the half-elf and two hobbits had vanished into, it was Fangorn forest and when Aragorn had said its name aloud, Gimli had summed the feelings they felt by saying, "Fangorn? What madness drove them in there?"

But despite their hesitation, they still went into the forest to find their friends. They had found the tracks left by Merry and Pippin, finding no trace of Izuna. Having no other choice, they followed the tracks left by the hobbits. Those tracks led them deeper and deeper into the forest but they still followed them, more so when Aragorn saw that there were another set of tracks that followed the hobbits.

Aragorn knew what kind of tracks they were and kept silent about it. But it was soon became obvious to them all when Gimli noticed dark spots on leaves, reach out to touch one of them and bring it to his mouth to taste, only to spit it out. "Orc blood!" he declared.

"They were being followed," Boromir said, looking more worried than before. "We must hurry!"

"If we do that, we risk ruining the tracks and losing them," Sasuke told him.

Aragorn followed the tracks before him, only to see them disappear from the ground. What replaced them were tracks made by something heavy and gnarled, but he did not know what it was. "These are strange tracks," he said aloud.

Sasuke saw the same thing. "The first one is oddly shaped, more so then the others," he said, looking down at the first track.

Aragorn saw it as well. Once he took a closer look, he could tell what it was. "Something was crushed beneath whoever stepped here."

"If that's the case, where's the body?" That was a disturbing question and rightfully so. Even if something had been crushed (and they were all hoping it was that it had been the orc), there would still be a body lying there. But there was none.

As he followed the others, Boromir suddenly felt his strength leave his legs. He would have fallen to the ground had he not grab hold of a tree trunk. But a gasp of breath escaped his lips when he did, making the others look back at him. "Are you alright, Boromir?" Gimli asked him.

"I am fine," he replied, his head bowed. "I am just a little tired." When he raised his head, he saw something across a brook. "Are those tracks?"

Both the Ranger and the shinobi looked at the direction he was looking at. Sasuke leapt over the brook, landing on the other side, and looked at the tracks there. "Izuna was here," he announced after looking at them. "He came from a different direction and then moved parallel with the strange tracks."

"He must've seen what was happening and followed to see what would happen," Aragorn said.

"Or to try and stage a rescue."

"We must keep searching." He followed the strange tracks while Sasuke followed the tracks of his student, trying to stay in sight of the others.

Boromir managed to regain his strength and followed after the others. As they followed the tracks, they could feel the forest all around them. "The air is so close in here," Gimli stated.

Legolas stopped where he was walking and looked around. "This forest is old. Very old," he said to the others. "Full of memory…and anger." A deep groan emerged from the surrounding trees, making the dwarf amongst them raise his axe.

Sasuke heard the same groan. But it also seemed like that it was directed at him. _**"Who are you to step in this forest?"**_ it seemed to say inside his head. _**"Traitor, oathbreaker, coward, we see you as we've seen you before. Tread lightly, we will watch you."**_

"The trees are speaking to each other!" Legolas said to the others.

"Gimli!" said Aragorn to the dwarf, who still had his weapon ready. "Lower your axe."

He did as he was told, even though he was uncomfortable to do such a thing. "They have feelings, my friend," the elf told him. "The Elves began it, waking up the trees, teaching them to speak."

"Talking trees," Gimli repeated. "What do trees have to talk about, except the consistency of squirrel droppings?"

"What would talking rocks have to talk about, except the amount of creatures tunneling?" Boromir asked him with a small smile. The dwarf didn't say anything in response, he just grunted.

They continued forward, spanning out to cover a little more ground. As he walked, Legolas came to a still and looked out at the forest. "Aragorn, nad no ennas (Aragorn, something's out there)," he told the Ranger, speaking in Elvish, walking away from the others.

The Ranger followed him and stopped when he did. "Man cenich (what do you see)?" he asked quietly. Both Gimli and Boromir came closer as they stood there.

"The White Wizard approaches," Legolas told him. The elf looked over his shoulder. The others got the silent hint and went still.

Aragorn barely turned his head to look at the direction pointed out to them. He saw someone coming towards them and he also saw Sasuke waiting behind a tree. "Do not let him speak, he will put a spell on us," he told the rest of them. He placed his hand on his sword and drew it out a few inches. Boromir did the same while Legolas quietly nocked an arrow and readied his hand and Gimli pulled a throwing axe in closer. "We must be quick."

With a deep breath, they all swerved around, ready to attack as white light flooded their eyes. Gimli, Legolas, and Sasuke (who had leapt out of his hiding spot when they turned) threw their respective axe, arrow, and kunai at the person standing in the column of light, but they were all swatted away like they were nothing. Sasuke wasn't done just then. He clasped his hands into a seal, but then couldn't move them. Aragorn and Boromir didn't do anything to attack because their swords turned hot and they were forced to drop them.

They were completely defenseless as they stared at the light surrounding the Wizard who stood before them. "You are tracking the footsteps of two young hobbits and a half-elf," he said to them.

"Where are they?" Aragorn demanded. The light was blinding him, forcing him to raise his hand to protect his eyes.

"They passed this way, quite recently in fact. They met someone they did not expect. Does that comfort you?'

"Who are you?" They could not see him and the voice sounded familiar but yet not. It was confusing and annoying. They did not know who it was standing before them. "Show yourself!" Aragorn commanded.

The light dimmed and the Wizard revealed himself. But it was not Saruman that was revealed nor was a new agent of Sauron. It was someone they all knew and someone they all thought dead. "It cannot be so!" Boromir exclaimed as he looked at the person before him.

But it was. Standing before them was Gandalf. He was dressed in white, his hair and beard were white, and the smooth elegant wooden staff that had replaced his old one was white as well. It was Gandalf but it was not Gandalf. Something about him had changed.

"Forgive me," Legolas said as he took a knee to the Wizard. "I mistook you for Saruman."

"I am Saruman. Or rather, Saruman as he should have been." the Wizard replied.

Sasuke, who had stayed silent throughout this (even when he could pull his hands apart from one other), finally stepped forward. "You. Fell," he said, pointing an accusing finger at the Wizard. The raven-haired man could still see that moment in Moria, perfectly. His hand was outstretched so the Wizard before him could take it and he fell into the abyss instead.

Gandalf did not protest those words. He only nodded grimly. "Through fire, and water," he agreed. "From the lowest dungeon to the highest peak, I fought with the Balrog of Morgoth. Until at last I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside."

He fell silent for a moment and his gaze looked slightly past them. "Darkness took me, and I strayed out of thought and time. The stars wheeled overhead, and every day was as long as a life age of the Earth."

Again he fell silent for a moment and then spoke again. "But it was not the end. I felt life in me again." His gaze returned to the five of them. "I've been sent back, until my task is done."

Aragorn, who had not spoken since he demanded the Wizard to show himself, finally did. "Gandalf," he said, taking a step forward.

For a moment, the Wizard looked confused at the word. "Gandalf?" he repeated. His eyes wandered as he processed the information. "Yes…" His eyes turned back to the Ranger. "That was what they use to call me." Aragorn nodded in answer. "Gandalf the Grey," he said his name. "That was my name."

"Gandalf," said Gimli, happy to see him again.

He smiled at them all. "I am Gandalf the White. And I come to you now, at the turn of the tide." He walked past them. "Come now."

"Where are we going?" Boromir asked him as he passed.

"I will tell you if you follow, Boromir. So don't just stand there!" They quickly followed the White Wizard. At one moment, when he passed out of their eyesight and then reappeared a second later, he was wearing a cloak not unlike theirs. "One stage of your journey is over, another begins," he told them as he kept walking. "We must travel to Edoras with all speed."

"Edoras?" repeated Gimli, surprised to hear those words. "That is no short distance."

"We hear of trouble in Rohan," Aragorn told Gandalf, walking beside him. "It goes ill with the king."

"Yes, and it will not be easily cured," he agreed.

"I cannot begin to imagine what has happen to King Théoden," Boromir stated.

"Then we have run all this way for nothing?" Gimli asked from where he walked in the back of the group.

"Not all for nothing," Sasuke remarked. "You're certainly fitter than before."

"That is not what I am talking about, lad," he replied gruffly. "Are we to leave those poor hobbits and your student here in this horrid, dark, dank, tree-infested—" A loud groan emerged from the trees surrounding him as they heard him speak. It was a sleepy but angry groan and he got the point quickly. "I mean…charming, quite charming…forest," he quickly corrected himself.

"_Very nicely done,"_ Crabandir thought to himself.

Gandalf stopped and looked back at the dwarf. "It was more than mere chance that brought Merry, Pippin, and Izuna to Fangorn," he said. "A great power has been sleeping here for many long years. The coming of those three will be like the falling of small stones that starts an avalanche in the mountains."

"In one thing you have not changed, dear friend," Aragorn said, getting an interested sound from the Wizard when he leaned in. "You still speak in riddles."

He chuckled at those words. "What will happen?" Boromir asked, getting his attention.

"A thing is about to happen that has not happened since the Elder Days," he answered. "The Ents are going to wake up, and find they are strong."

"Strong?" repeated Gimli as he looked up at the trees. "Oh, that's good."

"So stop your fretting, Master Dwarf," the Wizard told him before turning around and started walking again. "Merry, Pippin, and Izuna are quite safe. In fact, they are far safer than you are about to be."

As they kept on walking, the dwarf grumbled to himself. "This new Gandalf's more grumpy then the old one."

"I heard that!" Gandalf shouted back at him. They kept walking through the forest, heading for the area the Hunters had come from. As they walked, the new White Wizard turned to look at the most silent member of the group. "Sasuke, would you step closer?"

The shinobi did as he was asked, coming closer to him. "What is it?"

"I thought you should about something that happened to me during my experience. I met a polite young man in a rare moment of peace in all that chaos. I believe he called himself Itachi."

While it got the attention of Aragorn, having heard that name before in Moria, a more visible impact showed itself in Sasuke. He had stopped in his tracks and his eyes, which were usually expressionless, had widened in surprise at that piece of news. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. When he opened them again, they were expressionless again, mostly. "What did he say?"

"He said that to keep an eye on his foolish otouto, even though he hoped that you've grown out of doing rash things."

"…I see." That was his brother's words alright. He was keeping an eye on him even from beyond the grave.

"What does that word mean?" Legolas asked him.

He knew which word the elf prince was talking about and didn't see any reason to deflect or ignore the question. "It means little brother," he answered.

For those who did not who Gandalf had been talking about earlier, they now understood. But still, they had to be sure. "You mean…" Gimli asked, leaving the question hanging in the air.

"Yes," he answered shortly.

They said nothing else for the rest of the walk out of the forest. But once they were out from under the darkness of the trees' shade and beneath the open sky, Gandalf walked a little further ahead than the others. He began to whistle. It was a strange whistle, long and echoing through the wind.

Even as it echoed into nothingness, a neigh that echoed back sounded off. From the plains, a horse rode towards them. _"It's a beautiful one,"_ Sasuke silently admitted as he watched it run towards them. Its coat was a magnificent white, like freshly fallen snow, as was its mane and tail. Its stride was graceful and at the same time, powerful. There was no saddle on its back.

He wasn't alone in his notice of the approaching horse. "That is one of the Mearas. Unless my eyes are cheated by some spell," Legolas declared as he held onto the reins of his horse and watching the oncoming horse at the same time.

"If your eyes have been bewitched, Legolas, then so are mine," Boromir told him.

If the horse had heard them, it did not give them notice. Instead, it went up to the new White Wizard. "Shadowfax," Gandalf greeted him. To the others, he told them, "He is the lord of all horses, and has been my friend through many dangers." As he spoke, he patted the neck of the horse.

They all quickly mounted their respective horses (with the one exception of Sasuke) and rode off to the south. It soon became obvious to those who knew what to look for that Shadowfax could've easily outpaced the other two horses but didn't so they could stay in sight of one another.

But he did not and they rode on through the lands of Rohan. They rode all through the day, only to stop when the sun had set and the night had come. They made a small fire that night in the camp but there was a greater fire in the darkness. Off to the east, there was an angry redness illuminating the dark clouds hanging over the mountain range in that direction. To those who knew what lay beyond the mountains, they knew that the illumination came from both Barad-dûr and Mount Doom.

Aragorn noticed that Gandalf was staring off into the east from where he sat in the camp. Legolas, Gimli, and Boromir were asleep while Sasuke sat with the katana in his lap. The Ranger stood up and walked up to the Wizard. The shinobi took noticed, but did nothing. He just stayed where he was.

"The veiling shadow that glowers in the east takes shape," Gandalf said to Aragorn. "Sauron will suffer no rival. From the summit of Barad-dûr, his Eye watches ceaselessly. But he is not so mighty yet that he is above fear. Doubt gnaws at him. The rumor has reached him." He looked at the man beside him. "The heir of Númenor still lives."

Aragorn said nothing and Gandalf continued. "Sauron fears you, Aragorn. He fears what you may become. And so he'll strike hard and fast at the world of Men. He will use his puppet Saruman to destroy Rohan. War is coming. Rohan must defend itself and therein lays our first challenge, for Rohan is weak and ready to fall. The king's mind is enslaved. It's an old trick of Saruman's. His hold over King Théoden is very strong. Sauron and Saruman are tightening the noose. But for all their cunning, we have one advantage."

He looked at the heir of Isildur and smiled. "The Ring remains hidden. And that we should seek to destroy it has not yet entered their darkest dreams." He looked back to the east. "And so the weapon of the Enemy is moving towards Mordor, in the hands of a hobbit. Each day brings it closer to the fires of Mount Doom. We must trust now in Frodo. Everything depends on speed and the secrecy of his quest."

Aragorn felt a little guilt at what he had done at Amon Hen when he heard those words. Both Gandalf and Sasuke could see it in the way he held himself, but the Wizard was the one who said something. "Do not regret your decision to leave him. Frodo must finish this task alone."

"He's not alone," the Ranger told him. "Sam went with him."

The White Wizard was surprised to hear that. "Did he? Did he, indeed?"

"He is a very loyal gardener," Sasuke said, standing up from where he sitting and walking over to them, katana in hand. "He will protect Frodo."

"Yes, he will," he agreed before looking at the shinobi with knowing eyes. "You are as knowledgeable and wise as your ancestor was."

He looked at the Wizard. "I thought you said that you had never met Indra."

"I hadn't, but I had met his father and his uncle. It was only during my experience that I remembered how I knew. Now, I can remember clearly. Would you like me to tell you the story?"

The shinobi only nodded and Gandalf began. "It was during the Second Age, when I had a different name, Saruman was no traitor, and the Island of Númenor had not been sunk beneath the waves. As I walked along the beach of Valinor with Ingwë, King of the Vanyar and High King of the Elves, and Saruman, we spotted a small ship sailing towards the land. Thinking that it had been a ship carrying Elves that had strayed off-course, we did nothing until it was closer. Only then did we realize that the ship was not of Elven-make.

"When it stopped on the waves, someone had climbed over its rail and jumped down to the water, landing on its surface, the three of us could see that the person was a Man. But he was dressed like no Man any in Valinor had seen before. His eyes were like ripples in water made by a single stone and there was a similar mark on his forehead, along with two small horns.

"Ingwë called out to him. 'Who are you, stranger, and where do you hail from?' The Man did not speak. He simply walked towards the shore, making Ingwë speak again. 'Do not come any closer, stranger. Do you not know what the Valar have declared? No mortal soul may touch their feet upon the Undying Lands.'

"But the Man did not stop or speak and when he came upon the shore, he stepped off of the water and onto the air itself. He continued to walk and the three of us could not help but follow him as he walked. As we followed, more and more of the Maiar and the Elves joined us, for they wondered too why there was a Man in Valinor and nothing had happened. In silence, we followed him, through day and night, until he came to the Holy Mountain.

"In silence, the Man began to climb the peak and we followed. Some of the Elves and Maiar soon stopped and went back, but those who truly wanted to know followed. In time, he reached the peak and entered the halls of the Elder King. He soon found himself standing before all the Valar.

"Only then did he let his feet touch the ground and in doing so, bowed his head to the floor, pressing his head against the stone. 'Honored great uncles and aunts,' he said. 'I beg your forgiveness and plead for your help.'

"The Elder King looked down upon him and asked, 'Who are you to call us that?'

"He answered, 'I am Hagoromo, son of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.'

"'These names mean nothing to us.'

"'You know my mother as Bariel, adopted daughter of Morgoth. I have come to you, to risk my life and my soul, to plead for your help in stopping my mother. She has gone mad and has trapped my homeland in an endless dream. She is trapped, but soon she will break free and turn her attention to the rest of the lands. She can be stopped but not without help. So I ask for a sliver of a sliver of your power so that I may use it against her.'

"After silent consideration amongst them, the Valar granted his request. He thanked them and turned to leave. When he returned to the beach, another Man and another ship were there waiting for him on the water. In this Man was a sliver of a sliver of darkness. The Elder King could instantly tell that this was the darkness of his brother, Morgoth, and that the second Man must've been forced to carry it, for such was the way of darkness. In pity, he made it so that the second Man would only use the darkness to battle darkness.

"But when it was so, the second Man cried out in great pain. 'What have you done?' he asked the Elder King.

"'I have saved you from the path my brother had made you take,' he answered.

"'I chose to take that path of my own free will. You've saved me from nothing but my own choice.'

"Just then, the skies over Valinor darkened and Morgoth's voice reached out from beyond the Door of Night. 'So you would take what was freely sacrificed to me, brother? You would take my successor?' the voice said to the Elder King. 'This I will not abide, not while you may give and I cannot. When their task is done, the power that was given to them shall stay with them and shall pass on to their descendants. The wielder of my power shall suffer great anguish and torment and the wielder of your power will be able to do nothing for him.'

"The skies lightened and the voice faded. The two Men, who looked to be brothers, took to their ships and sailed away. The Maiar and the Vanyar never heard or saw to them again, until Indra arrived on the shores of Middle-Earth, bearing the mark the second Man had."

Sasuke looked down at his left hand. _"He must've died in the battle with the Jūbi,"_ he thought to himself, thinking of Hagoromo's brother. How else could Indra and by extension, him have gotten the mark? "Thanks," he told Gandalf before turning away. It was the only thing he said in reply to the story.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

If I've read the wiki and books right, no mortal soul could step on the Undying Lands. So if the Sage just walked on the air (and he could do that), technically he would be in the clear.

The Vanyar are the smallest and group of Elves that woke up, which is why their king is the high king.

If you didn't understand the story, let me break it down for you. Hagoromo and Hamura (his brother) had heard stories of Valinor from their mother when she wasn't crazy. When she finally does turn into the Jūbi, the brothers realize that they are outmatched in terms of power and decide to go to the Valar for help. However, since the Jūbi is neither good or evil, it just _is_, they need to get help from both light and darkness.

So while Hagoromo goes to Valinor, Hamura goes to the Door of Night and asks his grandfather for a silver of a silver of his power. Morgoth does give it to him, on the condition that when it is all said and done, he becomes the next Dark Lord (somehow, I don't think Sauron got Morgoth's stamp of approval). The Elder King, whose name is Manwë, decided to unintentionally corrupt that and so Morgoth got back at him for that. If you still don't get that, oh well.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	14. Breaking the hold

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 14: Breaking the hold

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Fangorn)

Merry felt comfortable and peaceful as he lay on the forest floor, slowly waking up. After meeting Gandalf again (and after hastily convincing Izuna that he wasn't Saruman), the Wizard had asked Treebeard to keep them safe The Ent did as he was asked and led them to one of his homes in the forest. They had fallen asleep in the process, so he just laid them on the ground to sleep.

Now the Brandybuck was the last to awake. As he did, he looked around his surroundings. Pippin was sitting next to a little stream and Izuna was sitting against a tree. "Hello?" Merry called out as he stood up.

"We're right here, Merry," Izuna told him.

"I wasn't talking about you, Izuna," he replied. "I was looking for Treebeard. Where'd he go off to?"

"I don't know. He was gone when I woke up."

"And I had the loveliest dream last night," Pippin said, joining the conversation. He had a bowl in his hand and he was careful not to drop it as he spoke.

"Pippin, what does your dream have to do with the absence of Treebeard?" the half-elf amongst them asked him.

"It doesn't."

"Then why are you bringing it up?"

"Well, it doesn't help us to know where Treebeard is. He will come back when he comes back. So there's no point in continuing that line of conversation, right?"

"…Right," he conceded.

"Then can I continue?"

He sighed. "Go ahead."

The hobbit smiled. "There was this large barrel, full of pipe-weed. And we smoked all of it."

Merry smiled at that. "That sounds like a nice dream."

"And then…the two of you were sick."

Izuna frowned a little. "That, not so much," he commented.

The Took didn't sound like he heard him. Instead, he just leaned back on the root he was sitting on. "I'd give anything for a whiff of Old Toby," he declared, closing his eyes.

The scowl on Merry's face faded away at those words. "I would too," he admitted.

Izuna looked at the both of them. "Was that what I had in Lothlórien?" he asked the two of them.

The Brandybuck amongst them shook his head. "No, that was a lesser brand, something that's best used in small quantities on the road. Old Toby and anything better is best taken when sitting back and relaxing."

"Like what I'm doing right now," Pippin chimed in from where he sat.

"Oh," the half-elf said. He fell silent for a moment, unsure of what to say next, and then just said what came to his mind. "I thought the one in Lothlórien was nice."

Both of the hobbits looked at each other and simultaneously rolled their eyes. "The words of a novice pipe-weed smoker," Merry said in a long-suffering voice. A loud groan echoed throughout the forest, getting his attention. "Did you hear that?" he asked. The groan came again, louder this time. "There is it again."

"I heard it," Izuna told him.

"Something's not right here. Not right at all."

Pippin didn't think anything off of it. He grabbed an urn that was near him and stood up with it and his bowl in hand. He burped but it didn't sound like a burp. It sounded like something else and Merry figured it out on the spot. "You said something…Treeish," he said to his friend.

"No, I didn't," Pippin protested. "I was just stretching." He stretched to prove his point and a weird noise came from him as he did.

When he was done, Merry noticed something about his friend. He walked around him, taking a closer look at him and making sure he was seeing right. "You're taller!" he finally said.

The Took stopped taking the sip he was sipping to look at the Brandybuck. "Who?"

"You!"

"Then what?"

"Then me!"

There was a brief look of confusion on his face when he heard that. "I've always been taller than you."

Merry placed his hands on his hips. "Pippin, everyone knows that I'm the tall one. You're the short one."

"_Who is everyone?"_ Izuna thought to himself. He didn't know that. Before he could even continue with that line of thought, he saw a flash of something beyond the current edge of trees. _"What was that?"_ He stood up. "You two stay here; I'm going to take a look around."

"Okay then," Pippin said to him before turning to look at his fellow hobbit. "Now please, Merry. You're what? Three-foot-six? At the most?" Merry looked a little proud at the height. "Whereas me, I'm pushing 3'7"." He said something odd again and grew just a little bit more. "3'8"!"

"Three-foot-eight?" repeated Merry, unbelieving at the fact when it was right there in front of him.

That was the last Izuna heard of that conversation and quite frankly, he was a little glad to have stopped listening. He found it to be hearing two hobbits arguing about their height, especially when they were adults.

He was more than happy to go looking for whatever had been on the edge of his sight. His curiosity was aroused. He went deeper into the woods to see what it was, but saw nothing. _"Where is it?"_ he asked as he looked, going further and further away from Treebeard's home.

He saw it again and turned his towards the direction it appeared. He would've gone after it had the screams of hobbits filled his ears. He quickly spun around and went for the home of the Ent. What he saw was not something he wanted to see. Both Merry and Pippin were being buried beneath the roots of a tree.

He almost panicked right then and there. "Merry! Pippin!" he shouted at them, sprinting for the tree, intent on saving his friends. But he was only able to reach it just in time to see them get completely buried. _"What should I do? What should I do?"_ he asked himself in a fearful state. He tried reaching down through the cracks left by the roots to grasp either one of the hobbits but he could not reach them.

"Treebeard! Anyone! HELP!" he shouted for the entirety of Fangorn to hear as he tried in vain to free the hobbits.

Fortunately for him, Treebeard had heard him and came back. **"Away with you,"** the Ent commanded the tree. **"You should not be waking. Eat earth. Dig deep. Drink water."** As he spoke, the roots of the tree began to move around, making Izuna hop off of them. It also freed the hobbits, who quickly scrambled free. **"Go to sleep. Away with you."**

As they watched the tree settle, Izuna turned on Merry and Pippin. "What was that all about?!" he demanded.

"**I'm afraid there is no time for questions, young half-elf,"** Treebeard said to him. **"The forest is waking up."** He reached down for the two hobbits, picked them up and placed them on his shoulders. **"Come, it isn't safe."**

He walked off and Izuna followed in his path as they left his home. **"The trees have grown wild and dangerous,"** he explained to them as he walked. **"Anger festers in their hearts. Black are their thoughts. Strong is their hate. They will harm you if they can."**

"But I had thought that the Ents would keep them in check," Izuna said to the Ent.

"**Once, we may have. But there are too few of us now. Too few Ents left to manage them."**

"Why are there so few of you when you have lived so long?" Pippin asked him. "Are there Ent children?"

"**Bru-ra-hroom, there have been no Entings for a terrible long count of years,"** he answered sorrowfully.

"Why is that?" Merry asked.

"**We lost the Entwives."**

"Oh, I'm sorry," Pippin said to him. He meant it. "How did they die?"

"Pippin!" said Izuna warningly. "You don't ask that!"

"**Die?"** Treebeard repeated, like he was trying to understand what that word meant. **"No. We lost them. And now, we cannot find them. I don't suppose that you've seen Entwives in the Shire?"** he asked the two hobbits, looking at Pippin as he asked.

The two of them shared a quick look with one another. "Can't say that I have?" Merry told him. "You, Pip?"

Pippin had the same answer as his friend but he didn't want to give it to Treebeard again. "What do they look like?" he asked. Maybe if they had some details, it might spark something in their memories.

A look of sorrow appeared on the Ent's face before he turned it away. **"I don't remember now."**

As he walked alongside the Ent, Izuna thought of something. "Do you think it's possible that they may have gone to a different land?" he asked Treebeard, looking at him.

"**Hroom, it is a thought. But we Ents have looked everywhere in Middle-Earth after losing the Entwives and we have not found them anywhere."**

"What if they went to a land you couldn't reach? If they went to a different continent?" he pressed on.

The Ent looked down at him with a curious look in his eyes. **"Do you know where the Entwives are?"**

He shook his head. "No, I don't. Until recently, I've never been out of Lothlórien. But my sensei comes from Southern-Earth."

"**Southern-Earth?"** the Ent repeated. **"I have never heard of such a land before. And what does this word, this 'sensei' mean?"**

"He told me it meant teacher. I am his student and he is my teacher. But since you've never heard of Southern-Earth before, it might be possible that the Entwives went there." He wasn't trying to get the Ent's hopes up. He was just raising a possibility. For all he knew, Sasuke-sensei had never seen one of the Entwives down there.

(Location: Sasuke's party)

As the horses came to a stop, so did he. They had been traveling since dawn and now it was well past noon when they crested a hill to see a city on a far greater hill before them. The shinobi amongst them was silent as he looked at the walled city. To no surprise, he had found that nothing had changed.

"Edoras, and the Golden Hall of Meduseld," Gandalf said for all of them to hear. "There dwells Théoden, King of Rohan, whose mind is overthrown. Saruman's hold over King Théoden is now very strong."

"But you are here, Gandalf," Boromir said to him.

"That may be. But still, be careful of what you say. Do not look for welcome here," he warned them. He urged Shadowfax on and the others followed. It did not take them long to reach the gate of Edoras. As they rode through, Aragorn saw something disturbing: one of the king's banners rolling in the grass outside the city.

Sasuke saw the same thing he did and did something about it. He went after the banner and picked it up, folding it until he could hold it easily in one hand. With the other, he pulled the hood of his cloak up over his head, hiding his face from the world.

The pace of the horses slowed considerably once they were in the city proper. As they made their way up the slope of the hill, they looked around at the people of Edoras. Those people were quiet and grim, looking at the strangers with uncertainty in their eyes. As Gimli eloquently put it, "You'd find more cheer in a graveyard."

"Indeed, this is a sad sight," Boromir agreed quietly. Never would he have thought to see the people of Rohan look like this.

They continued to climb the hill. A child appeared in the door of a house to watch them go by. When his eyes fell on Sasuke, they widened in surprise. Then he let out a shriek of happiness. "Bell Man!" he shouted, pointing at Sasuke. He was quickly dragged back into the house so he wouldn't continue to make a scene.

The group of strangers just looked at the child disappearing into the house and then at Sasuke. No words were said and they soon started riding and walking again, although the raven-haired shinobi did take a look back at the house the child was pulled into. He didn't dwell on it long and returned his attention back to what they were doing.

When they finally reached the stairs that would lead up to the Golden Hall, those who were riding dismounted their horses. They began climbing the steps, only to be met with guards at the top. While Gandalf looked happy to see him, the man leading the guards did not share the same feeling. "I cannot allow you before Théoden King so armed, Gandalf Greyhame," he said.

Boromir recognized the man immediately. "Has the trust of Rohan fallen so great that it doesn't trust Gondor and its Captain-General when he has come to see the king, Captain Hama?" he asked in a voice that would have no argument.

The man silently cursed himself for not recognizing the man. "My apologies, Lord Boromir, but while my trust in you and in Gondor has not faltered, this is the order of Gríma Wormtongue."

Gandalf said nothing save for an "Ah" of recognition. He nodded at the rest of his group, silently telling them to as they were asked. They did so and began to rid themselves of their weapons. It was done reluctantly and they let the guards know it by the looks on their faces.

When Hama noticed that none of the guards had touched Sasuke, he looked at them all. "He as well," he told them.

Before they even moved towards the hooded man, he stepped forward. "I remember you, Hama," he said in a quiet voice. "I remember when I brought your son back to you. You wept great tears of relief as you held him and so did he. Do you think such a man as me would harm the king?"

"Even so, I have my orders and I must ask you to give up any weapons you might have on you, Bell Man," Hama told him.

"As you command, but I will want them back." He took all the weapons he had on his body and held them out for the guards to take. The guard who took the katana did die immediately but he did look a lot paler than before.

The captain of the guard watched in silence as the weapons were taken, but then he noticed that Gandalf still had something on him (or rather, with him). "Your staff," he said to the Wizard.

Gandalf looked at him and then at his staff with a look of worry that made him seem older and frailer. "You would not part an old man from his walking stick," he replied. Legolas stepped forward and took the Wizard's left arm with his right, adding to the image of frailty.

Hama relented and turned to lead them into the hall. When he entered, he bowed briefly to the throne at the other end of the hall and the king who sat on it. Once he did that, he stepped out of the way to let the strangers in. The doors closed behind them with a loud _THUD_! They looked back to see that they were truly stuck inside the hall.

The man that was known as Wormtongue sat to the right of the king, who looked like an old and senile man. "My lord, Gandalf the Grey is coming," he whispered into the king's ear. "He's a herald of woe."

"The courtesy of your hall is somewhat lessened of late, Théoden King," Gandalf called out, letting his arm fall from Legolas's and walking on his own. As they went forward, they took notice of the fact that several young men to the sides of the hall were following them.

"He's not welcomed," Gríma whispered.

"Why…should I welcome you…Gandalf Stormcrow?" the king asked the Wizard, even when he was looking at his "advisor." His voice sounded weak and tired, like all he wanted to do was rest.

"A just question, my liege," Gríma praised him before standing up from where he sat. "Late is the hour in which this conjuror chooses to appear," he said as he began walking towards the strangers in the hall, more directly at Gandalf. "Láthspell I name him. Ill news is an ill guest," he declared as he stopped before the Wizard.

"Be silent!" Gandalf commanded, making him go silent. "Keep your forked tongue between your teeth. I have not passed through fire and death to brandy crooked words with a witless worm." He held up his staff.

The Wormtongue instantly backed off. "His staff!" he gasped in surprise, stepping away from him. "I told you to take the Wizard's staff!" he shouted at Hama.

When his gaze was turned, Sasuke acted. He suddenly appeared in front of Gríma and struck him in enough spots to make him lose strength in his legs and fall to the ground. The young men who had been walking parallel to them charged. They were intent on attacking the strangers. But the strangers had seen them coming.

The brawl that occurred was no contest. The young men in the employment of Gríma had been barely more than common village thugs before joining his employment and they still held to their roots, whereas their opponents were trained, skilled, and experienced warriors who had faced worse things than them. The only time the thugs looked they had an advantage was when Boromir lost strength in his arms and was knocked down. Fortunately for the Captain-General, Sasuke had been close by and had grabbed the thug who tackled him and promptly threw him at a one of the columns.

While all of this was happening, Gandalf walked towards the throne. Gamling, another member of the guard, reached for his sword, wanting to protect his king, but Hama stopped him. "Théoden, son of Thengel," Gandalf called out to the king, who seemed to try to look away, only to keep his gaze on the Wizard. "Too long have you sat in the shadows."

At this point, Gríma managed to regain control of his legs and tried to get away, only to have Gimli's foot press down on his chest and stopped him. "I would stay still if I were you," he growled.

"Harken to me!" Gandalf commanded Théoden, getting his full attention. He lowered his staff and raised his hand. "I release you from this spell." He closed his eyes and the hand, concentrating.

But Théoden only began to laugh, a bitter and cackling laugh, making Gandalf open his eyes. "You have no power here, Gandalf the _Grey_!" he told the Wizard, continuing to laugh. It may have been the king's voice that was speaking, but it was Saruman's word in his mouth.

Gandalf raised his head and in one smooth motion, pulled the cloak covering him off, revealing the color of his robes to all who could see it. Light filled the hall and the laughing of Theoden was cut off in a cry of pain as he was thrown against the back of the throne. He tried fighting it, but could only bring his upper body forward. "I will draw, Saruman, as poison is drawn from a wound," Gandalf declared, thrusting his staff forward and slamming the king back against the throne.

No one in the hall said a thing as the Wizard approached the throne. But from a corridor leading to said hall, a woman of golden hair wearing a white dress appeared. Seeing what was happening, she rushed forward, only to be stopped by Aragorn. "Wait," he told her.

"If I go, Théoden dies," Saruman spoke through the king.

Gandalf thrust his staff again, forcing him back against the throne. "You did not kill me. You will not kill him," he replied, coming even closer to the throne.

Again, he tried to fight off the spell. "Rohan is mine!"

Again, Gandalf forced him back. "Begone!"

With a last surge of strength, the king threw himself at Gandalf with a cry. The White Wizard replied with a cry of his own and swept his staff over the king, forcing him back down onto his throne.

He sat there, groaning in pain while Gandalf lowered his staff. When it looked like he was about to fall out of the throne, the woman broke free of Aragorn's grasp and ran towards him, catching him as he fell out of the chair.

Everyone there (with the exception of Gandalf) stood in silent surprise as they watched a miracle happen. King Théoden, who had looked like a tired old man who let his hair become overgrown. But now, he was becoming younger by the second. His overgrown white hair became shorter and turned yellow. His beard, which had been long enough to reach his lap, shortened until it became a respectable goatee. And his eyes, which had been lightened by the glaze they had, darkened with youth.

When the transformation was done, he looked around like he did not know where he was, until he looked upon the woman. "I know your face," he told her. When she smiled, he remembered: she was Éowyn, his niece. "Éowyn, Éowyn," he repeated the name, remembering how it felt on his tongue. He turned his head to look at the rest of the hall and saw the Wizard standing before him. "Gandalf?" he asked.

"Breathe the free air again, my friend," Gandalf told him.

He stood up on his legs, his niece helping him up. "Dark have my dreams been of late," he said, mostly to himself, as he looked at those in his hall. Then he looked at his hands like he had never seen them before. They felt stiff and weak.

"Your fingers would remember their old strength better if they grasped your sword," the Wizard before suggested.

Hama, having been the keeper of the sword, came forward and took a knee, holding out the sword of the king to him. Théoden reached uncertainly for the hilt, but once he took hold and held it aloft, what little strength that had escaped him returned. Gone was the old man who was held by the grip of Saruman and the lies of Gríma Wormtongue. In his place was Théoden, Lord of the Mark and King of Rohan.

When his attention turned away from his sword, it fell on Gríma, who had tried to escape Gimli's grip (he failed). "Gamling, Hama," he said to his two men, who stood up straighter at their names. "Get this worm out of my hall."

Feral grins appeared on their faces at those words and they turned to Gríma. They grabbed hold of him, dragged him to the entrance of the hall, and threw him down the stairs. He landed with shout of pain and felt pain everywhere. When he turned his gaze up to the hall, he saw the king coming towards him with the sword drawn. "I've only ever served you, my lord!" he pleaded, crawling down the steps as he spoke.

But the king would not be moved. "Your leechcraft would have had me crawling on all fours like a beast!" he replied, going after the man with the entirety of the hall behind him.

"Send me not from your sight," Gríma pleaded again.

All Théoden did was raise his sword into a killing strike. But what the people who looked upon the scene heard was not the sound of metal cutting through flesh and bone, but the sound of metal striking metal. What they had seen was Sasuke drawing his katana (having taken it back) and stopping the king's strike. When Théoden turned to look at him with anger in his eyes, he was calm. "Your first act of freedom should not be murder," he said quietly, still holding the sword in check.

Aragorn, who had been surprised by the move the shinobi made, still took advantage of it. "My lord, enough blood has been spilled on his account," he said to Théoden, looking at Gríma.

The king said nothing and Boromir came to his other side. "He is not worth killing, Théoden King," he said. That seemed to have been the right words as Théoden's anger disappeared and he lowered his sword.

Sasuke saw him lowering the sword and promptly withdrew his own. But he did not sheath it. Instead, he walked down the steps and placed the tip of his weapon beneath Gríma's chin. He held it there for a second and then he lifted it to point down the steps. "Run," he ordered the cowering man. It was the only thing he said.

The Wormtongue did as he was ordered, scrambling to his feet and fleeing into the crowd that had gathered at the base of the steps. "Get out of my way!" he shouted at them as he pushed them aside.

His fleeing by horse did not get attention as the people in Edoras were more focused on who stood on the steps. Both Aragorn and Boromir saw this and as one, they shouted, "Hail, Théoden King!"

They all knelt to him and bowed their heads, even the man from the north and the man from Gondor. Théoden saw this, but he did not see it. As he turned from the crowds and looked around, he could not find one particular person. "Where is Théodred?" he asked. "Where is my son?" The looks on his niece's and guards' faces was all the answer he needed.

* * *

As the sun set behind the mountains, he stood before the tomb of his son. Théodred's funeral had been taken care of that afternoon and all of Edoras had watched as his son was carried down from the hall and to his tomb. It was a quiet, somber affair. The silence was only broken when Éowyn began singing an old song of mourning.

Now Théoden stood there with a white flower in his hand. "Simbelmynë," he said, naming the flower. With one last look at it, he threw it to the ground. "Ever has it grown on the tomb of the forbearers," he said to both Gandalf and Sasuke, who stood nearby in silence. He turned to look at them. "Now it shall cover the tomb of my son. Alas that these evil days be mine. The young perish and the old linger. That I should live to see the last days of my house."

Gandalf broke his silence. "Théodred's death was not of your making," he told the king.

But those words did not help. "No parent should have to bury their child," Théoden said in reply. As if those words had suddenly made him realize that his son was now gone, he began to weep. Tears poured out from his eyes as he fell to his knees.

Sasuke did not say anything. But even though he silently agreed with what was said, there was a part of him that said something different. _"No child should have to bury their parents when they still have their innocence."_ That was something he would never forget, attending the funeral of his entire clan.

"He was strong in life," Gandalf said to Théoden. "His spirit will find its way to the halls of your fathers." He said a few more words in Quenya and turned away to leave the king in his grief.

Sasuke followed the Wizard and the two of them walked back up the road to Edoras. But something caught their eyes and made them stop. A horse was coming towards the city and on its back were two children. The younger of the two, a girl, was still conscious and had raised her head when Edoras came into her view. But the elder, a boy, had fallen into unconsciousness and fell from the horse.

Sasuke was at the horse in a matter of seconds, catching the boy before he hit the ground. "I have him," he told the girl.

"Tha-thank you," she said, obviously weak from hunger and no sleep. But she was also glad. It was obvious that they had reached the king and safety.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

Tolkien never did actually say where the Entwives went (despite some vague references in his letters that they might be dead), so that a little leeway. And the Elemental Nations are a big place to hide in.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	15. To safety

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 15: To safety

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Sasuke)

"**And what have you come for now?"** Indra asked him as they sat on their respective rocks, facing one another.

"I came to ask you a few questions," Sasuke told him, keeping his face impassive. "Are you as powerful as your father?"

His original incarnation scowled ever so slightly. **"Why does it matter?"**

"How you answer will answer my own question. It's obvious that you are outside time and space, like your father. But how much and how far can you reach back in is the question."

Indra was silent for the longest time (and considering where they were, that was saying something). **"…I am not as powerful as my father,"** he finally answered, sounding a little annoyed by the fact. **"I can reach back in, just to a lesser degree."**

"How much of a lesser degree would that be?" Sasuke asked.

The scowl grew more pronounced and his eyes swirled with his Kekkei Genkai. **"He could reach out to decades and centuries if he wanted to. I am only barely able to reach out to years."**

It must've been humbling for him to say that. He, whose line eventually produced the Uchiha clan (and possibly the Hyūga clan but Sasuke would have to check the genealogies on that), could barely even scratch the surface of what his father could do. But humbling was not what his most recent incarnation wanted to find out. He wanted to find out how far Indra could reach out into time and space and he had his answer.

"That's good to know."

"**Now why do you want to know these things?"**

"What we're fighting against has us outnumbered and outclassed when it comes to Rohan's military might, excluding their horses. We're going to need help if we're to succeed."

"**And this concerns me how?"**

"Because we need shinobi help," Sasuke told him.

Again, Indra was silent. But he spoke sooner than last time. **"Again, this concerns me how?"**

He couldn't believe that he was going to say this (despite all the two of them had been through, he had never thought he would actually say something like this), but it needed to be said. He could admit to that. "You need to reach out and call your brother."

The small annoyance that had been on Indra's face after asking how it concerned him disappeared almost instantly. It was replaced with a flat and hardened expression. **"No,"** he said shortly, like that was the end of the conversation.

But Sasuke wouldn't let it end there. "You know that we need his help here. All you have to do is call for him."

"**I said no,"** he repeated himself.

"Why not?" asked his reincarnation.

"**Because I said no,"** he answered. **"If you wish for help from shinobi, I **_**might**_** consider reaching out to send you help. But I will never call for Asura. I am better than that."**

"We need his help."

"**If you believe that, you're a fool."**

"I think that you would be the fool here," he accused Indra, a hint of anger showing in his voice. "You know that we need him and yet, you refuse to call for him out of a sense of pride."

The flat, hardened expression became infused with a tiny bit of anger. **"Leave, now,"** he ordered. Sasuke found that he could not argue and he quickly found himself in the real world.

(Location: Éowyn)

When her uncle declared that the people of Edoras would leave for Helm's Deep, she had helped in any way she could. That meant help packing away the supplies, bringing the weapons to the wagons, and making sure the people were ready to leave. And ever since her small meeting with the Ranger in the stables with Brego, Théodred's horse, she had been more focused on the tasks she worked on.

While she helped load supplies onto a wagon, she noticed something. "Where are all the children?" she asked one of the nearby maids who were helping load the supplies. None of the children that usually played nearby were there.

Fortunately for the niece of Théoden, the maid she had asked had the answer she was looking for. "I saw them go out the main gate."

"What? Why?" she demanded.

"I do not know. I thought that they were playing a game."

"Until we actually leave, they should stay inside the walls. Follow me." She turned from the wagon and went for the main gate, the maid following quickly behind her. No child should be wandering outside without an adult to keep an eye on them.

They found the children easily enough. They were standing outside the gate, looking down at the burial mounds. "What are you lot doing?" the maid demanded when she saw them just milling around on the road.

They all flinched at being caught and then looked at the two adults. They looked down at the ground, not wanting to turn their heads up. "We're waiting," Éowyn told them.

One of the older kids finally looked up and answered her. "We were trying to play a game of courage."

She knew what a game of courage was, having played a few when she was a child along with her brother and cousin. What she was more concerned about was their location for the game. "And you decided to have it outside the walls of the city?"

"We were trying to see who would be the bravest to get close to the Bell Man," another child told her.

That got Éowyn's attention. "The Bell Man?" she repeated, getting nods from all the children. "Where is he?"

"He's down there," the first child pointed down to the burial mounds.

She followed his finger and saw that the Bell Man was indeed amongst the burial mounds of the dead kings of Rohan. To be more specific, he was sitting in front of the burial mound of Théodred. Anger began to burn within her heart at the sight. "Go back into the city," she told both the children and the maid. "I will talk to him."

"But one of us hasn't gotten close to him," one of the children protested quietly.

"Go back," she repeated.

"But—" Whatever the child was about to say was silenced by the maid's hand over his mouth.

"Of course, Lady Éowyn," the maid said. "Come along, children, we must go." She herded them back up to the gates of Edoras.

Meanwhile, King Théoden's niece strode down to the burial mounds with anger in her footsteps. She stopped and stood before the Bell Man. "What are you doing?"

He opened his eyes and looked at her. "Sitting," he answered.

She could see that. He was sitting with his legs folded and his weapon upon his lap. But that wasn't the point. "Do you have any idea where you are sitting?"

"Of course I do. I am sitting in front of your cousin's tomb."

"So you admit to being disrespectful to the dead," she accused him with a harsh tone of voice.

His face was blank during the conversation and when she accused him, he did not change it. "Hardly," he replied easily.

"You sit before the tomb of my cousin and you claim to not be disrespectful? You have some nerve to claim that. Leave the dead in peace."

"I am doing exactly that," the foreigner told her with ease. "What you are failing to understand that we have different customs concerning the dead."

She was caught off-guard by those words but only momentarily. "What do you mean by those words?" she demanded.

Slowly and carefully, he stood up from where he sat, taking his weapon off of his lap to holding it at his side. The cloak he wore seemed to engulf his body, hiding it from sight. "Amongst my clan, there was a tradition that when a clansman died and was buried, their first night in death was watched over by another clansman, so that they would know peace for one night," he told her.

She listened in silence. "You have spent the night out here?" she could not help but ask. It would make sense, as no one had seen him since the funeral.

He nodded only once. "Your cousin deserved that much consideration." With nothing else to say, he walked past her and back up to Edoras. She stared silently at his back as he entered the gate.

(Location: Isengard)

Saruman was angry; it showed in how he paced the room. He had underestimated his former friend when he had control of Théoden, still thinking he would be weaker than he was. Then Gandalf revealed the color of his robes and forced him from Théoden. The staff might not have physically struck the king, but Saruman had felt it. He had been flung from the palantir and fell to the floor when it happened, bleeding from his forehead.

"Gandalf the White?" he said to himself as he paced the hall of the palantir. "Gandalf the Fool! Does he think to humble me with his newfound piety?" It was most likely the case. Why else would he do such a thing in such a way?

"There were five who followed the Wizard. An Elf, a Dwarf, and three Men," said Gríma Wormtongue as he entered the hall. He had fled from Edoras all the way here to Isengard.

"You stink of horse," the former White Wizard told him shortly, being able to smell it from where he stood. Wormtongue heard the silent warning and promptly backed away from him. "Tell me of these Men," Saruman ordered him, stopping him in his tracks. "Was one of them from Gondor?"

"Only one, Lord Boromir, it's Captain-General," he answered, dabbling his mouth with a handkerchief to wipe the blood. "The second was from the north. One of the Dúnedain Rangers, I thought he was." He paused for a moment, thinking about something he had seen, and then spoke again. "And yet, he bore a strange ring. Two serpents with emerald eyes. One devouring, the other crowned with golden flowers," he described the ring.

Saruman knew what the Wormtongue was describing and yet, he still must make sure it was what he thought it to be. He turned from his spy and went to his study. He pulled out the book he knew contained the information he was looking for, opening it as he sat down in his chair. As he turned the pages, he found one with an image of the very ring Grima had described.

"The ring of Barahir," he said as he looked upon the image. "So Gandalf Greyhame thinks he's found Isildur's Heir. The lost king of Gondor," he said to himself and to Gríma (but mostly himself). "He is a fool. The line was broken years ago." He closed the book and turned to look at his spy. "Tell me of the third Man."

"I have seen and met this Man before. But he is as strange and mysterious now as he was before. What cloth he wears is hidden by the elven cloak he wore. His features are strange and foreign. All I can say truly is that I know for certain is that he is not from Middle-Earth."

Saruman knew that little information was practically useless. "I see your skills of spying and observing have fallen," he told Gríma, making the other man flinch at the insult. "It matters not. The world of Men shall fall. It will begin at Edoras."

"No, it will not," his spy said, walking back into the hall of the palantir.

Saruman looked back at him. "Why?" he asked, following Wormtongue.

"Théoden will not stay at Edoras. It's vulnerable, he knows this. He will expect an attack on the city. They will flee to Helm's Deep, the great fortress of Rohan. It is a dangerous road to take through the mountains. They will be slow. They will have women, and children."

That got his attention. If they were going to be slow, that was an advantage for him. Without saying anything to his spy, he left the tower and went down to the factory that surrounded the tower. To be more specific, he went down to a part of the factory that housed beasts that had been gathered and trained.

An orc sat on a rock above the pit, taking notice of the Wizard approaching him. "Send out your Warg riders," he was ordered. He grinned in response as the sounds from the pit continued to pound away inside their ears.

(Location: Rohan)

The people living in Edoras had left their city and home. They travelled in slow convoy toward their destination: Helm's Deep. They were aware of the dangers in moving at such a slow pace but they didn't focus on that fact. They preferred to think of how with every step, they got closer to their sanctuary.

The members of the Fellowship who had been at Edoras (save for Gandalf) were riding along with the convoy. The White Wizard had left the city atop Shadowfax while the supplies were still being packed, having gone out to look Éomer and his men. Before he left, he had told Aragorn to make sure the defenses of Helm's Deep would hold. The Ranger promised it would be so and the Wizard left soon after.

Now, the five of them helped the convoy alone. Some were walking and some were riding, but they were all going in the same direction. Some were more incline to entertain than others. "It's true you don't see many Dwarf women," Gimli told Éowyn as he rode on a horse and she walked alongside. "And, in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance that they are often mistaken for Dwarf men," he said with a chuckle.

Éowyn smiled at that but turned her head to look back at Aragorn for silent confirmation. "It's the beards," he whispered, gesturing to his chin.

"This, in turn, has given rise to the belief that there are no Dwarf women," Gimli continued as she turned her head back. "And that Dwarves just spring out of holes in the ground." She laughed at that and he chuckled alongside her. "Which is, of course, ridiculous—" Whatever he was going to say next disappeared in the shout of surprise that came out of his mouth when the horse he was riding suddenly galloped forward. He lost his grip on the reins and fell off the horse, dropping the axe he was carrying.

"It's alright, it's alright!" he quickly assured the people around him as Éowyn rushed over to his side. "That was deliberate, it was deliberate!"

"For your sake, Gimli, pray Legolas doesn't hear otherwise," Boromir remarked with a grin on his face as he passed by.

That got the dwarf off the ground right away. "Are you planning on telling him, Boromir?!" he demanded.

"Not I!" he replied with a laugh.

As this all happened, Théoden and Aragorn rode side-by-side. "I've not seen my niece smile for a long time," the king told the Ranger. "She was a girl when they brought her father back dead, cut down by Orcs." Éowyn looked back at them with a smile on her face as she made sure Gimli was alright. "She watched her mother succumb to grief. Then she was left alone, to tend her king in growing fear. Doomed to wait upon an old man who should've loved her as a father," he declared bitterly.

Aragorn had nothing to saying, so the king rode ahead.

* * *

Later, when the convoy had stopped for a rest, Éowyn walked through the people with a few bowls and a cooking small pot full of food. "Gimli?" she said to the passing dwarf, offering the pot.

"N-no, I couldn't," he said, placing his hands up in a gesture of denial and continued to walk on. "I really couldn't," he said, half to her and half to himself.

Not put off by the rejection, she went over to Aragorn, who was sitting nearby on a small mound. Nearby sat Sasuke, sitting in the same position she saw him amongst the burial mounds. This time, the sword was propped up against his shoulder. "I made some stew," she told the two of them. "It isn't much, but it's hot." She might've made it for one person, but there were two there and she was polite.

"Thank you," Aragorn said as she filled two bowls and gave them to him and Sasuke, who took his without saying anything. When he scooped up some of the stew and took a bite, he instantly regretted it. He had tasted some terrible things in his life, but this stew was high up on the list. But Éowyn was right there with a look of concern, so he couldn't afford to be rude. "It's good," he told her as he finally swallowed it.

"Really?" she asked, glad to hear it. He nodded once; silently noticing that Sasuke had ate all of his without flinching. She turned away and he tried to pour it out without her seeing. But she turned back, forcing him to stop (and spill some on his leg). "My uncle told me a strange thing. He said that you rode to war with Thengel, my grandfather. But he must be mistaken."

"King Théoden has a good memory," he told her. "He was only a small child at the time."

Surprised to hear those words, she knelt down before him. "Then you must be at least 60," she said to him. He felt a little embarrassed to hear those words and said nothing. "70?" He still said nothing. "You cannot be 80!"

"She's not going to stop until you tell her," Sasuke said from where he sat without even looking at them.

Knowing that he spoke the truth, Aragorn told her. "87."

Realizing what that meant, she stood up in surprise. "You are one of the Dúnedain," she said to him. "A descendant of Númenor, blessed with long life. It was said that your race had passed into legend." She had read and heard all the stories. Now, one of them sat before her.

"There are few of us left," he said shortly. "The Northern Kingdom was destroyed long ago."

"I'm sorry. Please, eat," she urged him. Having no choice, he did. As he, she looked over at Sasuke. "Are you one of the Dúnedain as well?"

"No," he said shortly.

"He is not, my lady," Aragorn said to her while he ate (reluctantly).

"Oh, I see." She didn't know what else to say until her eyes came upon the sword he held. "That is a style of sword I have never seen before."

He looked up at her. "It's called a katana. It's a style of sword from where I am from."

"And is that particular ka-katana special to you?" she asked, stumbling over the foreign word.

"It belonged to my ancestor."

"So it is an heirloom?"

"…In a manner of speaking," he admitted. He wasn't even going to try to explain the connection between him, Indra, and the sword.

"What is its name?"

"It doesn't have one."

"Why not?" she asked, surprised by the news. She had thought that all heirloom weapons had names.

"What would be the point? It's an instrument that brings death to those I bear it against." She had no answer to that.

* * *

At the end of the day, when the sun had begun to set, the convoy stopped so they could eat. Fires had been set up around groups who ate together. Everyone knew what was happening and where they were going. But at that moment, it didn't matter.

The others had joined some fires to enjoy the company of others, but Sasuke had not. He had taken his food and walked away, sitting by himself on a small mound. It was a habit he was far too used to. But he made no attempts to break it.

He sat in silence and ate in silence as well. But as he ate, his eyes wandered to the people sitting at the fires. He didn't sit so far apart that he was invisible to them, just enough so it was clear that he wanted to be alone as he ate.

He watched silently as the people of Rohan sat around the fires, ate their food, and enjoyed the comforts of being near one another. They were happy for the moment, even when they knew that tomorrow would only be more hard walking and dangers. But he wouldn't let the moment be ruined by reminding them of what was coming.

As he watched the food be passed around and the children standing often and moving to different fires, he felt an emotion in his chest. It was an emotion that he had felt before and he hadn't enjoyed feeling it recently. It had been with him since the Academy, and his friend. But ever since he had come to this land, the emotion had changed, which was why he didn't like feeling it.

It was envy. Ever since he had seen Naruto get stronger and it had felt he was getting nowhere, he was envious of the blonde. He used that envy to train harder and make himself stronger. Perhaps envy was one of the reasons why he had left the village to go to Orochimaru (although that didn't matter now).

But nowadays, envy came to him in a different matter and if he was truthful to himself, he felt ashamed every time he felt it. It came to him whenever he saw families together, being happy and content with one another. He had been there before, when his clan was alive and he looked up to his brother.

But then Itachi and Obito killed them all, leaving him the sole survivor. He had lost that feeling of a family and now, whenever he saw a family together, he couldn't help but feel a little envious. He wanted to have a family again, but he had also realized that if he was going to have it, he would have to be the parent. The problem with that was he thought that he wouldn't be a good parent. That was another part of the envy he felt: he wanted what they had but he knew he would not be good at it.

The sounds of feet walking on the grass filled his ears and he went still at those sounds. But when he saw feet that didn't belong to an orc, he relaxed. He was a little surprised to see who the feet belonged to when he turned to look, but he did not let it show on his face. "Théoden King," he greeted the Lord of the Mark.

"I have heard the children call you the Bell Man," Théoden said to him, standing to his side. He had not been in Edoras when the children had been returned and so, had not met him. Now, he wanted to see what he was. "But is there a name you can call your own?"

"The Bell Man does not count?" he asked.

"That is a title, not a name. Do you have a name?"

He shrugged noncommittally. "The elves call me Crabandir."

"And yet, I feel that is not the name your mother gave you when you were a babe in her arms."

"You would be right," he said shortly. He looked up at the king and then at the ground he was standing on. "Sit down already."

Théoden looked at him with a serious expression on his face. "You would order a king?"

"It's wasn't an order, it was a suggestion. Just sit down."

There was a moment of nothing before the king finally did sit down. "Will you tell me your real name?" he asked.

"No," Sasuke said shortly.

"I could order you to tell me." He wasn't going to do that, but he wanted to see how this stranger to Middle-Earth would react.

He didn't disappoint. "And I would ignore it."

The king was a little surprised to hear those words. "You would refuse the order of a king?" That had been something he had not thought of. He was always taught that a king should be obeyed when the orders did not bring down evil upon him or those he rules.

"You're not my king," Sasuke told him.

"I am a king."

"But you are not _my_ king."

"Then who is your king?" Théoden asked him, taking the conversation in a different direction.

"I don't have a king."

He frowned somewhat. "Before you came here to Middle-Earth, did you have any concept of a king?"

The stranger turned his gaze upon him. It was silent, expressionless, and cold gaze, one that made him feel that he was being watched by a predator. "…We did not have kings, but we had leaders," Crabandir finally said.

"_Ah, I see now,"_ the king thought to himself. The man he was talking to came from a different land, which must have different customs. Before he came here, he probably didn't know what the word "king" meant. But he did know what a leader was. "Who was your leader?"

"Why would I tell you?"

"I am simply curious."

"Who led me doesn't matter, I am my own man."

"Would you mind if I asked you a question?"

"You have, several times," he said shortly.

Théoden smiled a little at that. "That is true, but I hope you don't mind one more."

He stopped himself from rolling his eyes at those words. "What's stopping you from asking it already?"

Taking that as a yes, the king of Rohan asked his question. "What makes a stranger to these lands, who had made no attempt to settle in one place or to make himself known to the people who live there, go after orcs who have taken children and bring those children back? Why do you do that?"

Crabandir was silent. As his silence continued, the people around the fires started to stop eating and began eating. It was a slow process and it began with the children. They began nodding off and the parents started taking them away to sleep. There were some protests but they were of the sleepy kind and weren't taken seriously.

"Mama," he heard one of the children say as she was carried away from the fire.

"Yes, what is it, little one?" her mother asked.

"Can you sing to me?"

He saw the mother smile just a little. "What song do you want to hear?"

The child was becoming more and more sleepy, as shown by her slurred voice, but she still answered the question. "The good one," she said.

"As you wish, my dear," the mother said. She began to sing.

(Start May it be)

May it be an evening star  
Shines down upon you  
May it be when darkness falls  
Your heart will be true  
You walk a lonely road  
Oh how far you are from home

Mornie utulie (Darkness has come)  
Believe and you will find your way  
Mornie alantie (Darkness has fallen)  
A promise lives within you now

May it be the shadow's call  
Will fly away  
May it be you journey on  
To light the day  
When the night is overcome  
You may rise to find the sun

Mornie utulie (Darkness has come)  
Believe and you will find your way  
Mornie alantie (Darkness has fallen)  
A promise lives within you now  
A promise lives within you now

(End May it be)

When she was done singing, the child was asleep. The mother sat down on the ground over a cloak that had been spread out, still holding her daughter. The two of them fell asleep on the cloak. The song that she had sung hung over the air. Everyone who had heard it (and that was anyone who was in earshot) had fallen silent, thinking about what the song meant.

The Bell Man turned to the king of Rohan. "That's why," he said shortly.

Théoden understood what he meant. "I see," he replied. He stood up and walked away, leaving the raven-haired shinobi alone.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

You will find out if Indra will help or not soon, I promise you that. So please don't ask if he does or not, or even who he will send.

I think that the children would want to see Sasuke and talk to him again, but they wouldn't know how to. I mean, he's not Naruto, so it wouldn't be easy for him. He's got that aura that tells people he doesn't know to leave him alone.

The ritual that Sasuke spoke is not an actual one (at least, not that I'm aware of), it's just something that I came up with.

Don't start telling me about how the Konoha Twelve was his family. I am well aware of that. The question is does he realize that.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	16. Troubles on the path

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 16: Troubles on the path

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Rohan)

The convoy went slowly onwards, heading for Helm's Deep. They were close, but they were not there and so they had to be careful still. Théoden knew this and so as he rode on, he looked at two of his guards. "Hama, Gamling, ride ahead and scout the path," he told them.

"As you command, Théoden King," Hama said, bowing his head in acknowledgment. The two rode forward to the head of the convoy, passing the people. Some of them looked at them as they passed, wondering what they were doing and/or where they were going. Others (like Aragorn, Éowyn, and Boromir) knew what they were doing and said nothing as they passed.

When they reached the head of the convoy and rode beyond it, they passed both Sasuke and Legolas, who were keeping a lookout. "Aren't we already doing what they are doing?" Sasuke asked with a small hint of sarcasm as he watched them pass. Legolas didn't answer, prompting him to look at the elf. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," Legolas answered. "But something is out there."

Meanwhile, Hama and Gamling had ridden far enough to be out of sight of the convoy. They were passing a rocky cliff when their horses began to fight against the reins, wanting to turn and run. "What is it? Hama?" Gamling asked his fellow guard and friend.

"I'm not sure," Hama answered. They started to look around for what had scared their horses, but the one place they didn't look was up.

On the top of the cliff was an orc riding what looked to be a cross between a hyena and a wolf, looking down on them. The orc kicked the creature's sides, prompting it to leap down at them with a roar. Both of the horsemen looked up to see where the roar had come from, but it was already too late. The creature smashed into Hama's horse, making it fall to the ground (breaking its neck in the process), and throwing Hama out of his saddle.

He hit the ground hard and was dazed for a moment. When the dizziness faded and he realized what had happened, he tried to reach for his sword. But the creature was already coming at him with jaws agape and all he could do was scream.

His scream was heard by the people in the convoy. And it was also heard by Sasuke and Legolas. "Shit," Sasuke swore. "Come on!" he told Legolas, already running ahead. The elf was not far behind him.

Gamling shook himself out of his shock of seeing the orc rider and Hama getting killed. He knew what that creature was the orc was riding. "Wargs!" he yelled out as he drew his sword from its scabbard and moved in to attack.

They exchanged a few strikes of the swords but he knew that his horse was paralyzed with fear from the sight of the warg. He couldn't move and he also saw that the warg was backing up slightly, getting ready to leap again.

But an arrow suddenly buried itself in the warg's eye, killing it and making it throw its rider from the saddle in its death throes. Gamling looked at where the arrow and come from to see both Sasuke and Legolas coming down the hill he and Hama had ridden down just seconds ago.

When Sasuke saw that the rider was still alive, he moved quickly and swiftly killed it with a kunai to its throat. But he knew that couldn't be the only one. The sight of a small (and ugly-looking) horn at its side confirmed his suspicions. He heard footsteps on the hill and turned to see Aragon looking down at them. "He's a scout!" he shouted up to the Ranger, who turned back and run down the hill. While Gamling followed him, the elf and shinobi went in the other direction.

As the two men ran back to the convoy, Théoden saw their frantic speed and quickly urged his horse to a gallop, racing to meet them. "What is it? What do you see?" he asked them.

"Wargs!" shouted Aragorn as he went for the horse he had barrowed. "We're under attack!"

When they heard the word "Warg," the people of Edoras began to panic. They knew of wargs and what they could do to their prey. They started to panic and that dreaded word began to travel down the length of the convoy, causing more panic to build up.

Boromir, from atop his horse, saw the panic building. "Get them out of here!" he shouted for any to hear. Some did hear him and began to usher the people in the convoy back to some order, but it wasn't enough.

As Aragorn climbed atop his horse and took the reins, Théoden turned his horse to face the convoy. "All riders to the head of the column," he ordered in a loud voice.

Gimli heard this order and immediately turned his own horse. "Come on. Get me up here. I'm a rider," he told the people next to him, who were also helping him get on the horse. "Come on!" he shouted once he was actually on.

As the riders began to mobilize and head for the head of the convoy, Théoden went to Éowyn. "You must lead the people to Helm's Deep, and make haste," he told her.

"I can fight," she responded. She had been taught how to use the spear, the sword, and the shield. She was a shieldmaiden, waiting to show her skills on the field of battle.

But her uncle had a different opinion on that. "No! You must do this, for me," he told her. For a moment, she said nothing. Then she turned back to her horse. "Lord Boromir, please help my niece get the people to Helm's Deep!" he called out to the Captain-General of Gondor.

"As you command, King Théoden!" he replied, already urging his horse close to Éowyn. If truth be told, he was secretly glad to have that option. His strength had been leaving him more and more often of late and he did not know if it would stay if he fought.

Glad to have heard those words, the king turned his horse around. "Follow me!" he shouted for all the riders to hear. They did hear and followed after him.

Gimli tried to follow as well, only to have some difficulty with the horse. "Forward. I mean, charge forward," he told it, but it went backwards instead.

Knowing that she had been given an order to help the people there (and also knowing that she would not disobey it for personal glory), Éowyn turned towards them. "Make for the lower ground!" she told them, urging them onto the lower ground.

"That's it! Go on!" Gimli exclaimed as he finally managed to get the horse moving forward instead of back, urging it forward along with the other riders.

"Stay together!" Éowyn told the fleeing people, who were already bunching up around their families. As she and Boromir herded them down to the path of relative safety, she looked back to see Aragorn. Their eyes connected for a moment before he turned around to follow the banner of the white horse of Rohan to battle.

* * *

When Legolas and Sasuke reached the top of the hill they had run up, the rest of the warg attack force riding their way, filling the airs with their howls. Sasuke didn't waste any time. He began flipping through handseals and took a deep breath. **"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu** (Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique)**!" **he said before spitting out multiple small fireballs that immediately flew towards the wargs. Some struck and set the wargs they hit ablaze, but some also missed.

"Give me cover," he told Legolas before suddenly charging down the hill towards the incoming wargs. The elf was caught off-guard by the request, but he pulled out an arrow, nocked it, and fired it at the wargs, taking one and its rider down. He shot a few more arrows, hitting his target each time, before the riders of Rohan appeared behind him. Seeing that Gimli was riding a horse from the back of the saddle, he took that as an invitation and leapt onto the saddle.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was charging at the wargs at full speed. One of the orc riders saw him and urged his warg forward, intent on taking first blood (unaware of that position had already been taken by the scout). Sasuke saw this and turned towards him to meet his attack, drawing the katana. But when it looked like warg rider and shinobi were about to hit one another, the shinobi of the two leapt into the air.

The orc only had time to look up in surprise before the katana entered its brain, killing him instantly. Sasuke kicked the body off of the warg and swiftly sat in the saddle. The warg tried to throw him off, but one look at his **Sharingan** and it was under his control. _"Works every time,"_ Sasuke thought to himself as he turned the warg around to run back at the enemy lines.

The other riders (both men and orc) were surprised to see him do something like that. But the men weren't ones to not take advantage of something like that and urged their mounts forward faster, shouting war-cries for the enemy to hear.

The warg riders did the same thing and when the two sides clashed together, things quickly became a mess. The riders of Rohan had better weaponry then the orcs and knew how to maneuver their horses; the problem was that the wargs themselves were also deadly. Their scent, if they got close enough in the right direction, was enough to make a horse still in fear. They also weren't above leaping up and knocking the horses down, making thrown riders easy targets.

As his blood got pumping at the sight of battle all around him, Gimli accidently fell off of the saddle he was sharing with Legolas. And while the elf rode on, he did look back to see that the dwarf had landed safely. He got back up onto his feet and grabbed hold of his axe.

He saw his first target was a warg who had lost its rider but was feasting on one of the dead horses that began to litter the battlefield. Sensing that someone was watching it, it lifted its head, its jaws bloody from the meat it ate, and saw Gimli standing there. Interested in the prospects of a fresh meal, it leapt over the dead horse and began making its way over to the dwarf.

Said dwarf was ready and waiting. "Bring your pretty face to my axe!" he challenged the warg, keeping his axe at the ready. The warg accepted the challenge and quickened its pace. But as it was about to leap at him, Legolas came riding back and shot an arrow at it, killing the creature instantly.

Needless to say, Gimli was annoyed the elf had interfered. "That one counts as mine!" he shouted at Legolas' back.

"Look out!" Sasuke shouted at him as he rode past. The dwarf turned to see what he was talking about, only to see a warg right in front of him. He swung his axe at its head, killing it. But it moved in such a way that when it collapsed, it collapsed right on top of him, making him grunt sharply in surprise.

But that didn't last long. "Stinking creature," he growled as he began to push the warg off of his body. He stopped when he saw an orc standing over the dead body with a long dagger at the ready. It reached down to grab him, intending on plunging the dagger into his head.

However, he grabbed the orc as well and snapped its neck while it was surprised. It fell on top of the warg, adding weight to it. Now that he was dealing with more weight to push off of. And that wasn't the only thing he had to suffer through. _"And I thought that the warg smelt bad!"_ he thought to himself as he was forced to smell the dead orc.

Sasuke was facing the same thing as he rode the hypnotized warg through the battlefield, attacking the other wargs and orcs. He had (rather unfortunately) been in some situations where he had been forced to smell an orc. The first time he had been forced to do that (as he was sneaking into the orc band camp to rescue a few children stolen from Gondor), the next day or two was spent wondering if he should go back to the Elemental Nations for the sake of his nose. He may have gone up against people who could rearrange the landscape with ease there, but at least they had the common courtesy to smell decent.

But now, he was dealing with the smell of the orcs and the smell of wargs (and it didn't help that he was riding one of said wargs). _"If one of the Inuzuka clan was here, they'd probably have passed out by now,"_ he thought to himself. But while he was thinking of the entire clan, his mind wandered over to a specific member of the clan, one that had been a friend, of sorts.

If he wasn't in the middle of a battle, he would've shaken his head to stop his train of thought. Instead, as he ran down another orc rider and decapitated both rider and warg, he mentally chastised himself. _"Now isn't the time to reminisce. Focus on the fight."_

He did just that, going back to the fight. When it had begun and the wargs began attacking the riders themselves, he started running interference. Whenever a warg was about to attack a rider instead of running past and letting the orc on its back do all the work, he would ride over and kill the warg.

It was a good plan and he had protected a good number of the riders. But he could not have the hypnotized warg be everywhere at once and multiple wargs were attacking multiple riders, pulling them down from their saddles and killing them with a snap of their jaws. Still, he did not stop.

He rode on through the field of battle, attacking and killing any warg that got too close. He didn't stay in one place, either. He rode his warg all around the battlefield, trying to make sure he stayed on (he had ridden a horse a couple of times before, but this was completely different). The other warg riders had taken notice of his tactics and were now trying to stay on the other side of the battlefield or were trying to attack him directly.

But those tactics did not stop him and the katana he wielded was dripping with blood from the number of orcs and wargs he killed. _"How many more are left?"_ he asked himself as he rode after one warg that had tried to go after a rider of Rohan. Only, at the last moment, the warg veer off. _"What was that?"_ Sasuke asked. But it was a passing thought; he was more concerned with going after the warg itself.

As he rode after it, another warg rode up beside him with an orc on its back with a bow in its hands. The raven-haired shinobi noticed at the bow with a nocked arrow pointed right at him at the last moment. He swung the katana down at the orc's arms, chopping them off in an instant. The orc howled in pain, but the arrow struck the hypnotized warg instead of its rider, killing it.

Sasuke instantly leapt out of the saddle when he felt the warg go into its death throes. He landed on his feet and slashed at the warg that ran beside him, almost cutting it in half but killing it anyway. The handless orc went flying but died when he threw a kunai at it and striking the head dead in the center.

He turned around to see another warg standing over the dead orc and warg that were atop of Gimli, its intent was obvious. He quickly pulled out another kunai and threw it at the warg, burying it in its eye. It rose up for a brief moment and then crashed down onto the pile, making the dwarf gasp in pain and surprise.

But he was quickly pulled out from beneath the pile from the shinobi himself. "Not to complain, Sasuke, but you couldn't have done that a bit sooner?" he asked as he got back onto his feet, grabbing his axe.

"Worry about that later," Sasuke told him as he watched the remaining wargs on the battlefield. "Stay back-to-back!" He felt the dwarf's smaller back press against his and the two of them struck any orc rider or warg that got too close.

But they didn't need to stay like that for long. The battle was ending in favor of the Men. What wargs and orc riders still living were being driven off. Gimli saw this and relaxed his guard somewhat. "I don't think we need to keep this position any more, lad," he told Sasuke. He took noticed of a wounded warg on its side nearby. He went over to it and with a great cry, buried his axe in its head.

As the men of Rohan began to survey the damage that had been done to them by the wargs, Legolas looked around the battlefield. There was someone missing from his sight. "Aragorn?" he called out as he walked through the field.

Both Sasuke and Gimli heard the elf call out and began looking themselves. But they could not see the Ranger anywhere. "Aragorn?" shouted Gimli, but there was no answer. Now even Théoden and his riders were looking for him.

Both elf and shinobi started looking on the field itself, trying to find any trace of where the Ranger was. When Legolas neared the nearby cliff side, he heard the sound of a wounded cackle. He looked back and saw a dying orc lying on the ground.

Gimli, Théoden, and Sasuke heard the sound as well and saw the orc. Gimli was the first to reach him and placed his axe against his neck. "Tell me what happened and I will ease your passing," he told the orc.

"He's…dead," the orc said with a weak cackle. "He took a little tumble off the cliff." He grinned monstrously at those words.

While the king of Rohan went to the cliff, the elf noticed something in the dying orc's hand. He pried it open and pulled out a jewel that was nothing but magnificent and beautiful. "This is the Evenstar," he said to Gimli and Sasuke. "It belongs to the Lady Arwen. She…" His voice stopped for a moment. "She must have given it to him before we left Rivendell."

"By the ancestors, no," Gimli said, hoping what that meant wasn't so. Legolas went to the cliff's edge to see if there was anything left of Aragorn. But all he saw was a river that flowed swiftly.

The orc cackled once more. "Pity, you won't be able to find him now," he gurgled with a grin.

Sasuke grabbed him by his vest and pulled him up so that they would look one another in the eyes. "Suffer," he commanded as his eyes transformed into the **Mangekyō Sharingan**. **"Tsukuyomi,"** he whispered the jutsu's name.

The dying orc went from cackling to screaming in a second. He died a second later but none of the others noticed, they were more concerned about looking down at the river below, trying to find any sign of Aragorn (only to have none).

Hearing footsteps behind them, Théoden turned to see Gamling coming towards them. "Get the wounded on horses," he commanded. "The wolves of Isengard will return. Leave the dead." Those words made Legolas turn to look at him. But all he did was clasp a hand on the elf's shoulder. "Come," he said before walking away.

Both Legolas and Gimli stayed where they were, looking down at the river. "Legolas, Gimli, we have to go," Sasuke called out to them. They turned back to see the riders already going away from the field of battle. And even though they wanted to keep looking, they knew he was right.

(Location: Éowyn)

She and Boromir had led the convoy for the past hour away from the battle. The pace they set was hurried, for they did not want the wargs to catch them. It soon bore fruit as they crested the last small hill and saw the sanctuary standing before them, nestled between the two mountains.

Cries of "Helm's Deep" and "We're safe!" echoed throughout the convoy as more and more people began to see Helm's Deep and they began to run towards to the stronghold. Even Éowyn was relieved to see it, especially when a woman walked to her and said, "We're safe, my lady. Thank you."

She left before the niece of the king could give a proper response. "There is still a walk before us," she said quietly to Boromir, who was by her side.

"Let them have their joy," he told her. "They will be there soon enough."

She could find no argument with those words and led the people down the hill, across the valley, and up the causeway to the safety of Helm's Deep. When the guards before the gate opened it to let her and the convoy in, she saw that the rest of Rohan were already there.

The people crowded the fortress proper as well as the area behind the Deeping Wall. It was obvious that Saruman had struck far and wide in Rohan while Gríma held sway over the king. She could only look upon the number of people standing at the entrance to the gate alone before realizing what had to be done. "Lord Boromir, could you please escort the people down to the camp so that they might be settled?" she asked the man from Gondor.

"Of course, Lady Éowyn," he said in reply. He turned to the people in the convoy. "Follow me!" he called out, leading the way. He had been to Helm's Deep before, when he had been a younger man and Gondor and Rohan were still on friendly terms.

When they reached the camp, the people who had come from Edoras began to spread out and find people they knew. They hugged one another, relief and gladness to see each other showing in their tears and their smiles. Even the two children who had ridden for Edoras found someone. "Mama!" shouted the girl as she and her brother ran towards their mother.

"Éothain! Freda!" she said when she saw them running, kneeling down and throwing her arms to catch them in a tight hug. They held onto one another, not ever letting go. Boromir saw this happen and smiled at the sight. It was a good thing that they had reunited.

* * *

Éowyn was helping take stock of the supplies that had been brought to the fortress. "Where is the rest?" she asked as she put down a barrel of beard.

"This is all we could save, my lady," one of the nearby men told her.

She looked at the supplies that were there. It was enough to last them long enough, but if they were besieged for a long time, they would run out. "Take it to the caves," she ordered. The people around her began to do as she said.

Over the din of the people inside the fortress, a voice cried out from the causeway. "Make way for the king. Make way for Théoden. Make way for the king," it declared as the Lord of the Mark rode into the fortress with the rest of his riders behind him.

His niece heard the voice and saw her uncle. She went to go meet him as he stopped before the keep. But as she met them, she saw that the number of riders was much smaller than the ones that had left the convoy. "So few, so few of you have returned," she said as her uncle dismounted. But amongst the riders, there was one she did not see.

"Our people are safe," Théoden told her. "We have paid for it with many lives." He turned around to help a wounded man get off the horse he was riding.

Gimli, who already gotten off of the horse he shared with Legolas, walked up to her. "My lady," he said to her.

She turned her head towards him. "Lord Aragorn...where is he?" she asked him, worry in her voice.

His mouth moved a couple of times, but no words came out at first. But they soon did. "He fell," he told her. At first, she did not seem to understand those two words. When she did, she looked back at her uncle, trying to see if it was true. He looked at her, feeling her eyes on him, and then looked away as he went up the stairs. That was all the answer she needed and she had to sit down.

* * *

Later, when everything had been taken care, the king of Rohan stood on the Deeping Wall with his men around him. "Draw all our forces behind the wall," he ordered them as they saw more and more refugees coming to Helm's Deep. "Bar the gate. And set a watch on the surround."

"What of those who cannot fight, my lord? The women and children?" asked Gamling as they began to walk down the nearby set of stairs.

"Get them into the caves," he answered. "Saruman's arm will have grown long indeed if he thinks he can reach us here," he said mostly to himself as he and his group walked alongside the small stream-like pool of water.

(Location: Isengard)

When Saruman had ordered Gríma to tell him about the fortress of Helm's Deep and whatever weakness it may have, he did as he was told. "Helm's Deep has one weakness. Its outer wall is solid rock, but for a small culvert at its base, which is little more than a drain."

Having heard those words, the White Wizard began preparing something that would take advantage of the small weakness with ease. He had a large, iron shell standing on the table in one of his workrooms and filled it with the ingredients needed to make it work.

Gríma, having watched the entire process from behind him with a candle in hand, only had questions. "How? How can fire undo stone?" he asked as he stepped forward and looked into the shell itself to see its contents. "What kind of device could bring down the wall?"

He leaned in to get a better look at what was inside the shell, bringing the candle with him as he did. Saruman saw what he about to do and stopped him by gripping the arm holding the candle. He got the silent warning and promptly stepped away. "If the wall is breached, Helm's Deep will fall," he said, walking out of the workroom.

"Even if it is breached, it would take a number beyond reckoning, thousands, to storm the Keep," Gríma protested as he followed.

"Tens of thousands," he corrected, walking out onto a balcony.

"But, my lord, there is no such force," the Wormtongue told him as he followed. When he stepped out of the tower and into the open air, he heard a horn sound off and saw a mass horde of Uruk-hai standing before the tower. When they saw their master, they began chanting a war cry that sounded suspiciously like "Tens of thousands."

Saruman raised his hand and they quieted down. "A new power is rising. Its victory is at hand," he told them, making the horde roar with bloodlust, until he raised his hand again. "This night…the land will be stained with the blood of Rohan! March to Helm's Deep! Leave none alive! To war!" he commanded, rising his arms into the air.

That command sent the Uruk-hai into a rage, roaring and bellowing their cruel joy at the chance to do what they were bred to do. Gríma looked down at the sheer number of Uruk-hai shouting and screaming, waving their tall pikes in the air. A tear escaped his eye, showing that at some level of his being, he had cared for Rohan, once.

But Saruman had none of that care "There will be no dawn for Men," he declared as he looked on.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

Why have Sasuke ride a horse when he can ride a warg? He's got the **Sharingan**, he can hypnotize a warg into letting him ride.

Am I the only one who thought that the Uruk-hai were chanting "Tens of thousands" during that scene in the movie? It sounded like that every time I've seen that scene. And since that was the case, I might as well put it in.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	17. The preparation

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 17: The preparation

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Fangorn)

Treebeard was walking slowly through the forest with Pippin and Merry riding on what could be described as his shoulders and Izuna walking beside him. The half-elf had (for lack of a better description) ridden the Ent from time to time, but preferred to have his feet on the ground. What he didn't tell the others that it was only as he walked that he saw some brief glimpse of a person in the forest and he wanted to know more. He didn't go far from Treebeard, but he would try to go after the glimpse. The problem was that it kept disappearing on him.

So when he didn't see the glimpses and they were bored, he would play a game he had learned from the hobbits. "I spy with my little eye something that is brown, tall and wooden," Pippin said since it was his turn.

Merry looked at him with a look of annoyance. "You've just described the entire forest surrounding us, Pip. Give us more to work with."

"Alright, it's also knotty and leans a bit."

"Again, you've just described the entire—"

"He's talking about the tree to our right and about ten feet behind us," Izuna answered as he kept walking. "It leans to the right and the base of it has knots in it."

"That's right," Pippin said, unsurprised that he got it. Aside from getting a few false ones at the beginning of their game, the half-elf had gotten every single one thrown at him.

"Alright, my turn," Merry said, looking around the surrounding forest. Treebeard was going up a hill, giving them a nice view of everything. "I spy with my little eye something small, with a coat, and can go very fast."

The other two players start looking around for what he had just described. "Is it that little bird over there?" Pippin asked, pointing at said bird nesting in a forest.

"No."

"Then how about that hawk?" he pointed upwards to a hawk flying up in the air. It was flying at such a height it looked like it could fit into one of their hands.

"Nope, not that," Merry said. "Honestly, Pip, I said small."

"I thought you were talking about distance-wise."

"No, I was talking about size-wise."

"He was talking about the raccoon in the tree on our left napping on the branch," Izuna told the Took.

Merry frowned. "You're right," he told Izuna. "Are you cheating?" It certainly felt like he was cheating.

He looked up at the hobbit. "How could I be cheating at a game I've only just learned?" he asked two of them. "My turn now," he declared when they didn't have an answer.

"Look," Pippin said suddenly as they reached the top of the hill. "There's smoke to the south." He sounded so serious that Izuna quickly forgot about the game.

Despite seeing the smoke, Treebeard didn't seem to be that worried about it. "**There is always smoke rising from Isengard these days,"** he told them.

"Isengard?" repeated Merry, surprised to hear that word. He had no idea they were close to Saruman's stronghold. Both he and Pippin climbed up higher on Treebeard to get a closer look. Izuna, having heard both of them speak, quickly joined them and stood on Treebeard's other shoulder.

"**There was a time when Saruman would walk in my woods,"** the Ent told them as they climbed.** "But now he has a mind of metal and wheels. He no longer cares for growing things.**

Once they had proper sight of Isengard, the three of them could also see what was leaving Isengard "What is it?" Pippin asked as he looked on at the thick, black column stretching out from Isengard to the horizon.

"It's Saruman's army," Merry said, realizing what that meant. "The war has started." All three of them shared looks with one another. The army of the former White Wizard was marching and there was nothing they could do.

(Location: Helm's Deep)

Sasuke walked through the camp made behind the Deeping Wall. They were waiting for news to come. Whether it would be about what Saruman had done or what aid may come to them, they did not know. All they could do was wait.

But even as they waited, Sasuke still could find things to do. He had sharpened the edge of the katana, had helped with the moving of supplies into the caves (where he had seen Gimli become awestruck by what he saw there), and now he was trying to find a place in the camp to sit down and rest for a few moments.

"Sasuke," he heard Boromir say as he past the man from Gondor.

He turned to look at the man. He was sitting on the ground with his back against the Deeping Wall. "I had thought that you would be helping," he commented.

"Aye, I was. But I tired and now I am resting."

"I can see." But it wasn't just that. He could see the sweat on Boromir's forehead, the paleness of his skin, and how out of breath he sounded. Something was happening with him, but it was not the shinobi's place to pry.

"By the way, have you see Legolas anywhere? I have not seen him."

He looked up at the Deeping Wall and then at the Hornburg, finally spotting the elf standing over the gate. "He's keeping watch."

"Oh, that's good."

Seeing that there was nothing else left to say, the raven-haired shinobi moved on away from him. As he walked through the camp, he did not make eye contact with any of the refugees and they didn't try either. Even those who were from Edoras were weary of this stranger who had saved their children, but kept to himself. Even as he walked, his hood was up over his head and his cloak hid what clothes he wore.

He did not pay attention to the not-staring he was getting from, he just walked past them. But when he was about to sit down, the boy who rode to Edoras came to him. "Bell Man," he said in greeting.

"What?" he asked shortly.

"Have you eaten?"

"No."

The boy did something unexpected: he grabbed the shinobi's hand and started pulling him along. "Come on then!"

Completely surprised by the action, Sasuke let himself be dragged along by the boy. Everyone nearby looked on as the stranger be pulled along by the boy. They started talking amongst themselves, wondering what was going on.

"Mama, Mama, I found him," the boy said as he finally stopped walking, coming before a small fire that had his sister and obviously his mother sitting around it.

"Éothain, what are you doing?" his mother demanded when she saw the sight in front of her.

"Why do you have the Bell Man with you?" his sister asked.

"I brought him so he could eat with us," Éothain answered both of them, like that answer was enough to satisfy them

It wasn't. "Young man, I raised you better than that!" his mother scolded him. He winced at the chastisement thrown at him.

Deciding to be a saving grace, Sasuke decided to intervene. "It's alright," he told her, removing his hood. "I am hungry."

"Oh." There was a moment of awkward silence before she spoke again. "Then please, sit."

He sat down at the fire, taking note of the large piece of meat roasting on the fire. When it was cooked enough, the mother carved off pieces and gave them to her children and to her guest. "Thank you," Sasuke said to her, taking the plate from her. He pulled out a kunai and began cutting it up.

They ate in silence for a moment, filling their stomachs because it was needed (three of them were too sacred of what was happening to enjoy food for what it was). By the time they were halfway through their meal, the conversation started up again. "Bell Man, do you have an actual name?" the girl asked him.

"Freda, manners!" the mother scolded her.

"But I just wanted to know," she protested. She looked over at him. "Could you tell me, please?"

"I'm sorry, my lord," her mother told him. "I have raised my children better than this."

"There is no need to worry, I am not offended," he said. "And I am not a lord. I'm just a wanderer."

"I remember."

He looked at her, a little curious to see what that meant. "Have we met before?" he asked.

Both her son and her daughter looked at her with surprise. "Mama, you met the Bell Man before?" Éothain asked her.

"It was when you were a babe and Freda was resting beneath my heart," she told both him and their guest. "He came into our village and stayed for the night. He was given lodgings, but kept to himself. But the next morning, when the sun had not yet risen, a band of orcs attacked the village. If it had not been for him, the sounds of battle would never have reached our ears and the men would not have rushed out to help him, driving the orcs away. We tried to thank and reward him, but he didn't take anything. He just left."

"I thought it would've been the best time to do so," Sasuke said, finally remembering that particular time. "And anyone would've done the same, no thanks was needed."

"We had disagreed, but you had already left," she replied.

"…I meant no offense," he told her after a moment of silence.

"And you gave none."

"Are you from Gondor?" Éothain asked him, his curiosity burning bright at the chance for more knowledge of the stranger.

He looked at the boy, saw the curiosity on his face, and seeing himself in him, indulged him. "No, I am not from Gondor. I am not even from Middle-Earth."

That surprised all three of them. Clearly, they had thought him to be from somewhere in Middle-Earth. "Where did you come from then?" asked Freda.

"I come from a land that is to the south. It has its own name in my native tongue, but here I have called it Southern-Earth."

"My lord! My lord!" shouted a guardsman as he came running through the camp towards their fire. When he finally stopped, he was panting hard.

"What is it?" Sasuke said to him, ignoring the fact that he was called a lord again (the only way he could be called that was if he formally became the head of the Uchiha clan).

"You…you must come with me, my lord," he said. "Lord Aragorn has been sighted. He's coming into the Hornburg as we speak."

A silent wave of relief swept through him at that news. While he had been afraid that the Ranger was dead like the rest of his group, he didn't show it, just like he didn't show his relief now. "I see, thank you," he said before going back to his food.

The guard was surprised by his reaction. "My lord, will you not come right now?"

"I will meet with Aragorn when I have finished the meal this nice family has given me. I will not be so rude to them as to leave before finishing it," he said shortly.

"Of, of course, my lord," the guardsman said.

"Thank you for saying that," Éothain and Freda's mother said to him as the guardsman left.

"It is not any trouble, madam," he replied. What he kept to himself was that he enjoyed talking to the three of them, especially Freda and Éothain. They reminded him of himself when he had been a kid.

* * *

As it turned out, Aragorn had lived through his fall to the river and was found by the horse he had asked to be freed in Edoras, Brego. He rode that horse to Helm's Deep, where the people looked at him with awe.

As he dismounted from Brego, an angry dwarf voice filled the air. "Where is he? Where is he? Get out of the way! I'm going to kill him!" Gimli pushed through the crowds and stood before the Ranger. "You are the luckiest, the canniest, and the most reckless man I ever knew." He went for the hug, which Aragorn did not stop. "Bless you, laddie."

After taking the hug in, Aragorn pushed him back enough so they could speak. "Gimli, where is the king?" he asked. The dwarf nodded to the hall at the top of the stairs. He nodded once and went up the stairs at a quick rate, belting on his sword as he went.

Just as he was about to reach the doors to the hall, Legolas and Boromir stood before him. "Le abdollen (You're late)," Legolas told him before looking over him. "You look terrible."

"He'll be fine," Boromir said. "It's not like he fell into a river from a great height." All three of them cracked a grin at those words, happy to see each other again.

Éowyn was nearby, helping some of the refugees, when she saw Aragorn standing there. She began walking quickly over to him, only to stop when she saw Legolas give him something. She realized that it was the jewel he worn on the path to Helm's Deep. "Hannon le (Thank you)," she heard the Ranger say to the walked away, knowing what she might say to him would never do.

As Aragorn walked past Legolas and Boromir and went for the doors, he saw Sasuke standing by them. "Nice to see you're still alive," the shinobi said simply.

It might not have been much, but the Ranger could hear the silent relief in those words. "Thank you. The king is inside, I hope? I have news that he will need to hear."

Sasuke didn't say anything. He simply went for the doors and pushed them open. "Théoden King, Aragorn is here," he declared for the hall to hear.

The king of Rohan looked on from his throne with his guards by his side as Aragorn entered the hall. "Théoden King, I have news that must be shared," he said.

"Those who need to hear this news stay. Otherwise, clear the hall," Théoden declared. Those who weren't needed there left just as quickly as those who were needed coming in (including Legolas, Boromir, and Gimli).

The Lord of the Mark stood from his throne and began walking through the hall as he heard Aragorn's news. "A great host, you say?" he repeated what he heard.

"All Isengard is emptied," Aragorn told him. He had seen it as he rode Brego to Helm's Deep.

"How many?" he asked.

"Ten thousand strong at least," the Ranger told him.

The king went still as he heard those words. "Ten thousand?" he asked, turning back to look at him.

Aragorn nodded briefly. What he had seen of the Uruk-hai had been like a black horde marching towards Helm's Deep. "It is an army bred for a single purpose: to destroy the world of Men," he declared. "They will be here by nightfall."

Théoden was silent as he looked at all the people in the hall. Finally, he turned his head and went for the doors. "Let them come!"

"_What is the king thinking?"_ Sasuke and the other members of the Fellowship there thought as they followed him.

As he began to walk down the Hornburg, Théoden gave his order to Gamling. "I want every man and strong lad, able to bear arms, to be ready for battle by nightfall." The guardsman nodded and went off. The king and the Fellowship stepped outside the gate and looked at what was around them. "We will cover the causeway and the gate from above. No army has ever breached the Deeping Wall, or set foot inside the Hornburg!"

"This is no rabble of mindless Orcs," Gimli told him from where he stood before the gate, his hands resting on his axe. "These are Uruk-hai. Their armor is thick and their shields broad.

The king went straight up to him. "I have fought many wars, Master Dwarf," he replied, evenly and yet warningly. "I know how to defend my own keep." He walked back into said keep, passing an annoyed dwarf (who got a reassuring hand from Aragorn).

As they climbed up to the inner ramparts, Théoden told them what he thought would happen. "They will break upon this fortress like water on rock. Saruman's hordes will pillage and burn. We've seen it before. Crops can be resown, homes rebuilt. Within these walls, we will outlast them."

"They do not come to destroy Rohan's crops or villages. They come to destroy its people, down to the last child," Aragorn told him.

But he had said it in front of some guards, so Théoden took his arm and pulled him in. "What would you have me do?" he asked with a whisper, quiet enough to keep it private but loud for the other Fellowship members to hear. "Look at my men. Their courage hangs by a thread. If this is to be our end, then I would have them make such an end, as to be worthy of remembrance."

He turned around and started walking away. "Send out riders, my lord," the Ranger told him, making him stop. "You must call for aid."

"And who will come?" he challenged, coming back. "Elves? Dwarves? Strangers from a different land? We are not so lucky in our friends as you. The old alliances are dead."

Boromir had an answer for him, having heard everything. "Gondor will answer, Théoden King," he said. "The Oath of Eorl will be upheld by my father."

But if that was supposed to make the king happy, it didn't work. "Gondor?!" repeated Théoden, turning his head to look at the Captain-General. "Where was Gondor when the Westfold fell?! Where was Gondor when our enemies closed in around us?! Where was Gon—?" He stopped himself from continuing, lest he say something he would regret. "No, my Lord Aragorn, my Lord Boromir, we are alone."

Sasuke stared directly at him. He could see that the man was committed to this fate that was to come upon them. _"Nothing will convince him otherwise now,"_ he thought to himself.

Théoden walked away from the Fellowship, down the ramparts, and then to the hall. "Get the women and children into the caves," he ordered Gamling, who had fallen in behind him.

"We need more time to lay provisions—" Gamling began to say.

"There is no time," the king cut him off. "War is upon us."

That ended the argument. "Secure the gate," Gamling told a pair of nearby guardsmen, who did as they were ordered. No one noticed the flock of Crebain in the air overlooking the valley.

(Location: Fangorn)

"**We Ents have not troubled about the wars of Men and Wizards for a very long time,"** Treebeard told the hobbits and the half-elf as they kept walking through the forest. But ahead of them was a light that could only belong to the open sky. **"But now, something is about to happen that has not happened for an Age."** He walked out of the trees and into the clearing. **"Entmoot,"** he declared.

They looked around the clearing and only saw a large slab of rock pointing upwards into the air at an angle. "What's that? Merry asked him, talking about the Entmoot.

"**'Tis a gathering,"** he answered.

"A gathering of what?" asked the hobbit.

The forest all around them moaned, groaned, and stirred to his question. As he listened to the forest, Izuna knew the answer. "A gathering of Fangorn," he said.

As if to answer his words, other Ents began to come out of the forest and into the clearing. They all had different appearances and they came at their own pace. **"Beech. Oak. Chestnut. Ash. Good. Good. Good. Many have come,"** Treebeard said as he looked at his fellow Ents. **"Now we must decide if the Ents will go to war."**

(Location: Helm's Deep)

The guards were already taking what men and boys they could find to take them to the armory to be suited for war. The others who weren't being taken, the women and children who were too young, were heading into the caves for safety. Aragorn was walking against the flow of the people going into the cave. "We'll place the reserves along the wall. They can support the archers from above the gate," he said to Legolas and Boromir, who were following him. He saw that Sasuke was nearby, guiding people into the caves.

"Aragorn, you must rest," Legolas told him. "You're no use to us half alive."

"We do not have time to rest," he replied.

"Then you must make time," Boromir said to him, agreeing with Legolas.

"My lord! Aragorn!" called out Éowyn as she came towards him. "I'm to be sent with the women into the caves," she told him.

Already he could tell that was not what she wanted. But he could not speak against Théoden's orders. "That is an honorable charge," he told her.

"To mind the children, to find food and bedding when the men return," she protested. "What renown is there in that?"

"My lady, a time may come for valor without renown. Who then will your people look to in the last defense?" he asked her.

She knew the answer, but did not want to hear it. "Let me stand at your side."

"It is not in my power to command it." He turned to go back to his duties.

"You do not command the others to stay!" she said to him, making him stop and turn back to her. "They fight beside you because they would not be parted from you. Because they love you," she declared. In the silence that followed, they stared at each other. Finally, she bowed her head and looked away. "I'm sorry." She walked away from him, following the crowd.

Even as the people of Rohan went into the caves and began finding places to settle, the men who were young enough and the boys who were old enough were taken by the guards to be fitted for the coming fight. Their wives and mothers cried as they watched them be taken away. They knew that it had to happen, but they didn't have to like it. Éowyn tied back her hair. She may want to be in the upcoming fight, but she was here and she would do what was asked of her.

* * *

The men and boys who were conscripted into fighting were taken to the armory to be given armor and weapons. Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Boromir stood in the middle of the room, looking at the people in there and at the weapons. "Farmers, farriers, stable boys. These are no soldiers," Aragorn declared.

"That may be, but they are all we have left," Boromir said to him.

"That does not make it right, Boromir," Gimli told him. "Most have seen too many winters."

"Or too few," Legolas added as he scanned the room. "Look at them. They're frightened. I can see it in their eyes." His statement made the entire room stop and look at him. "Boe a hyn…neled herain dan caer menig(And they should be...three hundred against ten thousand)?" he asked in Sindarin to Aragorn.

"Si beriathar hyn ammaeg na ned Edoras (They have more hope of defending themselves here than at Edoras)," the Ranger answered in the same tongue.

"Aragorn, nedin dagor hen ú-'erir ortheri," he replied. "Natha daged dhaer(Aragorn, they cannot win this fight. They are all going to die)!"

"Then I shall die as one of them!" the Ranger shouted, switching back to the common tongue. The two of them glared at each other and then the Man turned to walk away.

Legolas moved to go after him, only to have Gimli stop him. "Let him go, lad," the dwarf said. "Let him be."

(Location: Fangorn)

Night had fallen since the Entmoot had convened and the Ents were still standing around the rock. They were not speaking words that the other people there could understand. All they could hear was the moaning and groaning one would expect from trees.

Pippin had tried to get some sleep and he had fallen asleep a few hours back. But a loud groan had woken him up and he saw Merry pacing the ground. "It's been going for hours," the Brandybuck told him.

"They have something quite serious to talk about," Izuna said from where he stood next to a tree. "Perhaps they have a lot of things to decide."

"They must have decided something by now," Pippin said in reply, standing up from where he was sleeping.

"**Decided?"** Treebeard repeated, having heard the two of them. He turned around to look at them. **"No. We only just finished saying…good morning."**

The hobbits and half-elf stared at him for a long second. "I stand corrected," Izuna said.

"But it's nighttime already," Merry said to Treebeard, annoyed at his attitude. "You can't take forever."

"**Don't be hasty,"** the Ent told him.

"We're running out of time!" he tried telling them. But the Ent only turned his head back to the Entmoot.

Izuna saw another glimpse in the forest. "I will be back," he told the two hobbits, going in the direction of the glimpse. When he reached the spot, he saw another glimpse deeper in the forest. He went further in, determine to find who it was that wore red that kept appearing before him.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

When it comes to I Spy in Middle-Earth, I think that the Hobbits would've been the ones to invent it. They have that kind of time. Then again, you probably don't want to play that game with a person with a **Sharingan**.

If you want to know what that whole part with Sasuke and the family was about, call it a first step.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	18. The storm arrives

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 18: The storm arrives

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Helm's Deep)

The night had come to Helm's Deep and torches had been lit to see through the darkness. When the sun had finally disappeared from sight, the men who were conscripted into fighting were abuzz with activity, moving all around to their positions. The strength of the men would be stringed along the walls. It was strained to such a degree that a good enough of a blow would most likely shatter it.

Amidst the chaos of people moving in every single direction, there was a sort of tense peace. To those who were not doing anything and were just waiting, they could only watch the others run around. Aragorn was one of those people. He was sitting on the steps that led to the keep. He watched the people going back and forth. He and Legolas were not speaking at the moment, both Gimli and Boromir were resting, and he had no idea where Sasuke had disappeared to.

He noticed a young man, practically a boy standing nearby over a fire, trying to keep warm. He was wearing a suit of armor that looked loose on him. He held a sword and his grip said that he was nervous and unsure. He looked at the Ranger and quickly looked away when he was seen. "Give me your sword," Aragorn told him. He did as he was ordered, walking over to the Ranger and handing him the sword. "What is your name?"

"Haleth, son of Hama, my lord," he answered. That answer made the Ranger pause and look at him, finally seeing some of Hama in him. "The men are saying we will not live out the night. They say that it is hopeless."

Not saying anything at first, he stood up from where he had been sitting. He held the sword out and looked down its edge. He swung it expertly through the air, feeling how it moved. "This is a good sword," he finally declared, giving the sword back. "Haleth, son of Hama," he said, placing a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "There is always hope."

* * *

After talking to the boy, Aragorn finally did something about the incoming attack: he prepared himself for battle. He preferred speed when it came to his defense, being able to step out of the way before an attack struck him, which was why he did not go any armor that might've slowed him down. Instead, he stuck to chainmail and added support to it with a leather vest. Once they were both, he reached for his belt and wrapped it around his waist, tightening it just enough to make sure it stayed.

When he reached for his sword, he found it missing. But then he saw it behind him, being held by Legolas, who only a pair of shoulder pauldrons for armor. He took it gratefully. "We have trusted you this far. You have not led us astray," Legolas said to him. "Forgive me. I was wrong to despair."

"Ú-moe edaved, Legolas (There is nothing to forgive, Legolas)," he told his friend, giving him a pat on the shoulder, which he got in return.

The sound of a grumbling dwarf filled the air in the armory as Gimli appeared in front of them, alongside Boromir. The Captain-General of Minas Tirith wore the same armor as the guards of the king but with his horn at his side and his shield slung across his back.

Gimli, on the other hand, was struggling with a very big shirt of chainmail. "We had time, I'd get this adjusted," he said to them all as he continued to struggle with it. Once he was done, he let it drop and the bottom of the chainmail crashed onto the floor, making a loud noise and easily covering his feet. "It's a little tight across the chest," he said after a moment of silence.

The rest of the Fellowship in the room shared a smile at those words. "Gimli, perhaps you might want to stay with you are wearing now?" Legolas suggested to him, trying to keep the smile hidden as best he could.

The dwarf stared at him and gave him a suspicious glare. "And what would you suggest that I do with this shirt?"

Boromir had a suggestion for him. "Throw it at the Uruk-hai when they come attacking and hope it will slow them down?" he offered.

They might have laughed (or at the very least, chuckled) about it had they not heard a horn ring out from the outside. "That is no Orc horn," Legolas declared. A horn that was fashioned by an orc would've sounded a lot more cruder. He ran out of the armory and Aragorn followed.

Gimli was stuck in his spot because of the chainmail, but Boromir soon got him out of it. "Thanks for that, lad," the dwarf said to him. Together, they went after the elf and Ranger.

* * *

As the horn rang out into the night sky, the soldiers on the ramparts of the Hornburg looked at the causeway, for that was where the horn was being sounded from. "Send for the king," one soldier ordered another, who did as he was ordered. "Open the gate!" the first soldier shouted. The order was repeated and the gate was opened to let the host of Elven warriors to come marching in, four men abreast.

All the soldiers of Rohan, both actual and conscripted, could only watch in stunned awe and wonder as the elves passed them. Even though they were cloaked and hooded in cloaks that were the color of night blue, they could see the helmets beneath the hoods and the tall bows that each and every elf carried. Banners came with them, being held high so they could be seen in all their brightly colored glory.

Grins and smiles appeared on the faces of the men of Rohan as they watched the elves marched up through the Hornburg. Now they stood a chance against the horde that was marching towards them. But there was still one question that needed to be asked and it was asked by Théoden when the elves marched before the steps leading to the keep "How is this possible?" he said, standing in his armor and looking at the elves in his fortress.

Haldir, who was the leader of the elves, stood before the king in his own armor and bowed his head. "I bring word from Elrond of Rivendell," he said, raising his head again. "An alliance once existed between Elves and Men. Long ago we fought and died together." His eyes saw Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Boromir quickly appearing on the steps. "We come to honor that allegiance."

He bowed his head again to Aragorn as the Ranger came down the steps to greet him. He was a little surprised to get a hug from him, but he did not push away from it. "You are most welcome," Aragorn told him after stepping away from the hug.

Legolas stepped forward and clasped arms with Haldir. The elves, seeing the Prince of Mirkwood, came to attention, first by turning their head, then their bodies before ending by resting the bottom tip of their bows on the ground. "We are proud to fight alongside Men once more," Haldir told the king of Rohan.

For a moment, Théoden was at a loss for words. But he soon found them. "And we are honored to fight alongside Elves once more," he replied.

"Alright, I'll admit it. That was impressive," Gimli acknowledged as he looked at the elves standing at complete attention. He had never seen an army of dwarves do something like that so smoothly (and without a word spoken).

"I thank you for your praise, Master Dwarf," Haldir said to him. His eyes took notice of something else and he looked further up the steps to see Sasuke standing at the top, his cloak covering the clothes he wore completely. "Crabandir, it is good to see you once more."

"Haldir," Sasuke greeted the elf as he walked down the steps, reaching the bottom and looking at the elven host that stood before him. He didn't say anything for a long moment and then he did. "I know you are there," he said in his native tongue.

The people standing around him had no idea what he had just said, but it had done something. Eight hooded people appeared before him from seemingly out of nowhere. One of them stepped forward and pulled down their hood, revealing a man with white hair, purple eyes, and a sharpened smile. "I knew I wouldn't be able to pull one past you, but the others weren't convinced," he said in the language of the Elemental Nations.

"Suigetsu," Sasuke said, looking at him.

"Nice to see you too, Sasuke," he greeted the raven-haired shinobi. "How have you been?"

"Why are you here?"

"We got a mission a couple of months back, telling us to come here and assist the people in fighting what was coming."

His mind instantly went to Indra when he heard those words. So his ancestor had called for help, just not the help he needed (and secretly wanted). "The shinobi have never left the Elemental Nations before for missions, why start now?"

"Hey, don't ask me, I'm just the leader of this little group. The Mizukage is the one who gave us the mission. We ran into those guys when we were about find this place, so we just tailed after them," he said, pointing at the elves behind them, who didn't blink an eye.

Sasuke looked at the other hooded people standing behind him. "You've done it then?" he asked.

"Yeah, I did it," Suigetsu said with a proud grin on his face, realizing what he was talking about. "It was a pain in the ass, but I did it. And now I lead them."

"Crabandir, who are they?" asked Legolas as he looked at them all.

The raven-haired shinobi turned to look at the elf. "They are my reinforcements," he answered in the common tongue of Middle-Earth.

"This?" Théoden said, looking just as well as the elf. "The elves have sent a host and you have sent for eight people?" His voice was full of disbelief.

"Oi, what did he say?" Suigetsu asked Sasuke. He didn't understand what the blonde guy in armor was saying, but he could tell it wasn't something good.

Crabandir was silent for a moment, looking between the two groups slowly. "He doesn't believe you will be of any worth," he finally said to the Kiri shinobi.

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

He turned his head to look at the six who stood before him (the seventh stood just a few inches apart, enough to show that he wasn't one of them). "Draw swords!" he ordered in a loud voice. Their cloaks flapped open, making their hoods fall down to reveal their faces, as they drew out the swords that marked them and held them out for all who were there to see.

The soldiers of Rohan drew back in surprise at the sudden sight of weapons being revealed. Thinking that they were already being attacked, some of them went for their swords. "STAY YOUR BLADES!" Théoden instantly bellowed when he saw what they were doing. They did as they were told and he looked at Sasuke. "What is the meaning of this?"

"These seven are not just any shinobi," he told the Lord of the Mark. "They are the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen of the Mist, the best of the best of Kirigakure, one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries. The only one who is better than they is their leader, the Mizukage. The swords they wield pick their wielders, which alone should show how difficult it is to become a part of their group. Saruman needs 10,000 Uruk-hai to try and take this fortress; they would only need themselves to take it." He fell silent and looked at all the people who were there and listening to him before turning his attention back to the king. "Is there anything else I need to convince you of?"

Théoden looked at him, then at the eight, and then back at him. "If there are Seven Swordsmen, who is the eighth?" he asked.

Seeing his point, and not saying anything in response, Sasuke turned back around to look at the eighth person standing there. His hood was still up, hiding enough of his face to make him unrecognizable. But he could see the raven-haired shinobi staring at him. He walked forward, making the Kiri shinobi step away and lower their swords, coming to stand before Sasuke.

The difference in height was that the raven-haired shinobi had to look up at him. He was by no means a giant, but he was taller than Sasuke. He reached up and pulled his hood down, revealing his orange hair, beard, and eyes that also had a tint of red to them. Before anyone could do anything, they were all surprised when he suddenly went down on one knee, placing his opposite fist on the stone floor of the keep. The only exception was Suigetsu, who had been expecting it.

"Sasuke," he said, his head bowed.

"Jūgo," Sasuke said in reply. "Stand up; you do not bow to me." He did as he was asked and the two of them looked at one another again. "You've grown a beard."

"I wanted to see what it felt like."

"Without the razor, I see." The beard he was looking at could very well be called a bush. It was tangled and messy, yet it did not fall past the bottom of his neck. That meant he wasn't living with anyone again but still managed to care for it somehow.

"No, just a pair of scissors," Jūgo said to him.

"_That explains that,"_ he thought to himself.

"Who is he?" Boromir asked him. "Was he your servant?"

He looked over at the man from Gondor. "No, he was not. He is…a friend." He was a little reluctant to use that word, but it described Jūgo to a good enough degree. He was a friend. "We must focus on what is important right now," he declared, changing the subject. "We have reinforcements; we should use them accordingly for the battle ahead."

"And are you ready for the battle ahead, Lord Sasuke?" Théoden asked him. He didn't look prepared, but the king had figured to never assume with this man.

His only response was to reach to the clasp holding his cloak, revealing a gloved hand that shined in the light of the torches. The clasp was undone and the cloak fell to the ground, revealing what he wore beneath.

The people surrounding him, including the elves, breathed out a gasp of surprise and wonder at the sight. The other members of the Fellowship stared at him in surprise. They knew the suit of armor he wore. "That is the armor Balin and the dwarves of Moria crafted," Gimli said.

"It was made for an Uchiha, an Uchiha should wear it for the battle," Sasuke said in reply. He wore it well. While the armor of the Rohan soldiers looked poor compared to the armor of the elves, the mithril armor held its own against them. Carried in his arm was a helmet unlike they ever had seen. The sword he always had was attached to a belt around his waist. Each piece of it looked they had been crafted for him exactly. The light of the torches shined against the armor and made it gleam. He seemed more like a warrior-prince from a legend then a stranger from lands unknown. "And I am prepared."

"Then let us begin our defenses," Théoden declared. He went into the keep and Aragorn went with him. Haldir followed along with Sasuke and Suigetsu. The elves and the other seven from Southern-Earth stayed where they stood, waiting for orders. In the silence, Boromir turned to the only dwarf there and asked one question with a completely straight face. "Should we expect a company of dwarves soon, Gimli?" Gimli just scowled at him.

* * *

Now that they had the elves and the shinobi, the defenses of Helm's Deep could be rearranged into much more stronger lines. The elves were placed along the Deeping Wall and behind it since it was most likely that the Uruks would try to get to the Hornburg through it. The Seven Swordsmen were scattered all around the fortress. Some were by the gate, some were on the Wall, and some were behind it, all placed where they were best suited. Jūgo was not a part of the battle, having been asked to go to the caves to protect the children by Sasuke (who explained it to Éowyn when they had arrived).

Now all they could do was wait and they did not have to wait long. Already they could see the torches marching towards them and hear their footsteps pounding on the ground. But their ears were mostly filled by the silence and it made them tense.

Legolas and Gimli, along with Sasuke and Suigetsu, stood on the Deeping Wall alongside the elves. But while three of them could see what was coming, one could not. "You lot could have picked a better spot," Gimli grumbled, making Legolas smile a little.

The sound of footsteps walking on the stone floor of the wall was heard coming towards. Sasuke turned his head to see the Ranger coming towards them. "Aragorn," he said in greeting.

"Sasuke," Aragorn greeted in return. He took note of the fact that while he still carried the helmet, the raven-haired shinobi now wore some kind of mask that protected the upper part of his face, but left his lower half free to move.

"Well, lad, whatever luck you live by, let's hope it lasts the night," Gimli told Aragorn.

Lightning flashed and thunder boomed overhead from the darken clouds that engulfed the sky. "Your friends are with you, Aragorn," Legolas said to the Ranger.

"Let's hope they last the night," Gimli said to himself.

"What are they saying?" Suigetsu asked Sasuke.

"They're praying," he answered as Aragorn walked away to continue his walk along the Deeping Wall.

Thunder boomed once more and the lightning flashed again. From above, rain began to fall. It was slow but soon fell much more rapidly and quickly became a shower. And all the while, the Uruk-hai marched closer. Sasuke lifted his head to look at the rain and the storm. Then he took note of the mountains on either side of the fortress and the valley below them.

He could very well use the storm to call forth **Kirin** and send it smashing into the Uruk-hai horde, but therein laid the problem. The valley was roughly the same size of the Uchiha hideout where he fought Itachi for the last time at the base. He had utterly destroyed the base when he called forth **Kirin** and the same could happen here, taking Helm's Deep along with it. There was also a good chance that it could cause an avalanche. Seeing as there were no good options with that jutsu, he wouldn't be able to use it.

As the Uruk-hai came closer and closer, Aragorn walked amongst the elves. "A Eruchîn, ú-dano i faelas a hyn, an uben tanatha le faelas (Show them no mercy, for you shall receive none)!" he told them in Sindarin.

The leader of the Uruk-hai, who had climbed atop a large rock so he could see the fortress and his own troops, raised his sword and roared at the horde of Uruk-hai. They knew that was an order and came to a complete stop. Now the first line of Uruk-hai stood within easy sight of the Deeping Wall.

Both sides could see the other, with the exception of one person. "What's happening out there?" Gimli demanded as he tried hopping up and down to get a better look over the wall.

"Shall I describe it to you?" Legolas asked him, making him stop and look up. "Or would you like me to find you a box?" Gimli could see the humor in the words and began to chuckle at them.

The leader of the horde raised his sword and roared once more. The Uruk-hai began to bang their pikes into the ground, making a loud drumming sound. Aragorn, who had stepped forward before the elves, drew his sword and waited. The men of Rohan who manned the ramparts of the Hornburg raised their bows and nocked their arrows. But that did not stop the Uruk-hai nor did it worry them. They kept banging their pikes into the ground as well as bashing their fists against their chests. It soon became obvious that they were chanting a war chant, hoping to terrorize the people hiding in the fortress, to make the fight easier. The sounds they were making carried deep into the mountains, into the very caves where the women and children were waiting.

The chanting and banging continued, as well as the hope of demoralizing the men in Helm's Deep. But what came next could be best described as a quite literal slip of the hand. One of the archers on the Outer Wall of the Hornburg was an old man and while he could nock an arrow to a bow and hold it, he could not hold it for long. His arms began to shake and when he tried to relax them a little; his hand slipped and fired the arrow. It sailed through the raining air and struck one of the Uruk-hai in the first line, pricing its neck and killing it instantly.

"Dartho (Hold)!" Aragorn immediately shouted, preventing anyone else from firing.

As the now dead Uruk fell to the earth, Suigetsu spoke. "Well, that's one down, nine thousand nine hundred ninety nine to go." Then he noticed Sasuke's look. "It had to be said."

"No, it didn't," Sasuke replied.

Théoden, seeing the Uruk-hai fall to the earth, saw an opportunity. "Lord Boromir!" he called out to the man from Gondor, who was standing at the part of the fortress that connected to the Deeping Wall, allowing him to move between both places. "Give them a reply!"

Boromir knew what he meant and reached for his horn. _"Let my strength stay with me through this battle,"_ he silently prayed before he blew the Horn of Gondor. It's sharp, clear note pierced the night and the rain, sending chills down the backs of the Uruk-hai.

But as the horn's note died away, the Uruk-hai started to growl and snarl, their anger and hatred bred into them spiking, causing what passed for blood in their veins to start singing. The growling and snarling quickly turned into screaming and yelling. The leader saw that they were pulling at the chain. So he dropped it by raising his sword and roaring at them to charge forward.

As Theoden watched the first line of Uruk-hai charge, he had only one thing to say. "So it begins."

The Uruks were charging towards the Deeping Wall, which meant they were going to attack the elves. "Tangado a chadad (Prepare to fire)!" ordered Aragorn. His order was repeated down the wall and the elves drew their arrows and nocked them to their bows. Sasuke placed the helmet on his head and strapped it on. Now, he was ready for battle and he cut an intimidating figure.

"Faeg i-varv dîn na lanc a nu ranc (Their armor is weak at the neck and beneath the arm)," Legolas said to the elves surrounding him, letting them know where to fire their arrows.

"Leithio i philinn (Release the arrows)!" Aragorn shouted, lowering his hand. At the command and the lowering of the hand, the elves on the wall fired their arrows. They flew through the rain and struck many of the Uruks, sending them to the ground. The elves didn't stop there, they nocked another arrow, drew the bowstring back, and loosed again.

Gimli could see the arrows being drawn and loose and he knew that the elves were shooting at the Uruks, but that was all he knew. "Did they hit anything?" he asked Legolas, but the elf was too busy shooting arrows.

So he looked to Sasuke. "Yes," the shinobi told him.

Théoden saw the arrows fly from the Deeping Wall and kill the charging Uruk-hai. "Give them a volley," he ordered Gamling.

His guardsman raised his hand. "Fire!" he bellowed out the order, lowering his hand. His order was repeated by a man missing an eye and the outer ramparts fired off their own round of arrows, killing more Uruks.

They kept charging, despite many of their fellow Uruks already being shot down. Aragon saw that more arrows would be needed and so signaled the elves standing behind the wall with his sword. "Ribed bant (Full volley)!" he shouted at them, swinging his sword forward. The arrows flew overhead and fell upon the Uruk-hai, but still they came.

Gimli was getting excited; he knew that the Uruks would be close now. "Send them to me! Come on!" he shouted.

"Man, this guy is excitable," Suigetsu remarked. Sasuke didn't reply. He was too busy focusing on the incoming enemy.

Uruks with crossbows had gotten close enough to fire on the elves. The result was deadly. The armor the elves wore was probably some of the best that had ever been crafted. But it was also archaic and the bolts being fired from the crossbows had tips of steel, able to pierce the elven armor.

The bolts found their targets and elves did fall from the battlements dead to the ground below. But those who were still alive still fired off arrows at the Uruks. But while this exchange of arrows and bolts went on, the Uruks reached the base of the wall and brought several things with them. "Pendraith (Ladders)!" Aragorn shouted, realizing that they were indeed ladders and were already being set up by the Uruk-hai.

Gimli did not know a lot of Elvish, but what he heard the Ranger say was one of those few words. "Good!" he declared, readying his axe.

The bases of the ladders were placed at the bottom of the Deeping Wall and were being raised up with Uruks at their tops. "Swords! Swords!" shouted Aragorn to the elves on the wall. They dropped their bows and drew the swords they carried on their backs. Sasuke drew his and Suigetsu did the same as he signaled the wielder of Kabutowari to do the same.

The first of the ladders, and the Uruk at its top was met by Gimli and his axe. But that was only one. More appeared in sight of the elves and the Uruks riding them carried large swords and no armor, save for a helmet. They swung their swords in a rage-like attack. That, along with its wider reach, killed the elves trying to get close to the Uruk.

The enraged Uruks had only one job and that was to protect the ladders and allow more to climb up onto the Deeping Wall. It worked, to extent. Despite the range of their swords and the fury they swung them with; there was no real skill to it. Sasuke was able to dissect one in half with his katana and his **Sharingan**. Suigetsu and his fellow Swordsman didn't have that luxury, but that didn't slow them down when it came to killing the Uruk-hai.

"_This isn't too hard,"_ Suigetsu thought to himself. He said "Too" because of the fact that more of them kept coming. But he didn't have a problem with that. It just meant there was more kills for Kubikiribōchō.

Gimli took noticed of a particular enraged Uruk that killing a good number of elves. With a shout, he slid underneath the Uruk and swung his axe into its stomach, killing it. "Legolas!" he called out as he stood back up. "Two already!" he said, holding up two fingers.

"I'm on seventeen!" Legolas replied after knocking an Uruk down to the ground with his bow.

The dwarf was not happy to hear those words. "I'll have no pointy-ear outscoring me!" he declared, swinging his axe at an Uruk coming up a ladder (and landing it in its crotch), killing the creature.

The elf fired two arrows at Uruks coming up the ladders. "Nineteen!" he told Gimli.

Sasuke restrained the urge to roll his eyes as he listened to the two of them talk like that. It was not the place or time to roll his eyes; he had to focus his attention on the Uruk-hai. And that was what he did. Those who went against him barely saw the katana move through the air before they died.

There was also the fact that to the Uruk-hai, he looked like a creature they would be frightened of (and considering Saruman had tried to breed fear out of them that was saying something). They could not see his face, so they could not see if there was fear in his eyes or not. All they saw was a mask beneath a great horned helmet. The horns curved towards the sky and could most likely be used to gore them if he wanted to use them like that.

The armor he wore was some of the hardest stuff they had ever tried swinging a sword at, yet he was able to move like he was wearing nothing at all. His blade was not the only weapon he used. Several Uruks found themselves dead from knives in their throats or eyes as well as from kicks and punches that could cave in someone's face.

But what was the most terrifying thing for them were the eyes. Even though they could not see the eyes perfectly, they could see enough of them to know that they were not normal Man eyes. Man eyes were not supposed to be red and they were not supposed to be glowing faintly against the darkness and the rain.

As he cut through the Uruks on the Deeping Wall, Sasuke began to make it a priority to kill the enraged Uruks. They were the ones guarding the ladders and once they were dead, it would be a lot easier to rid themselves of the ladders. After slicing one of the enraged Uruk's neck open, he found himself back-to-back with Suigetsu. "Are you having as much fun as I am?" Suigetsu asked him in their native tongue and with a manic grin on his face.

"Focus on the fight," Sasuke said to him shortly while deflecting a sword strike from an Uruk and beheading it in the next second.

"I am!"

"Then start kicking those ladders down."

"You haven't changed one bit, Sasuke," the wielder of Kubikiribōchō told him. But he did as he was told, signally the wielder of Kabutowari to do the same. Together, the two of them began knocking down ladders on the army of Uruk-hai below them, crushing a few in the process. But still more ladders latched themselves onto the Deeping Wall and more Uruks climbed up them.

(Location: Fangorn)

He could barely keep sight of the glimpse as he went after it in the forest. It also didn't help that even with his **Sharingan**, it was still dark enough beneath the branches and leaves from the trees of Fangorn to make him slow down and watch his step.

But that didn't stop him from continuing his chase. He went after the glimpses doggedly, determined to find out who it was. _"Would he or whoever it is just slow down?"_ he thought to himself as he ducked avoid a tree branch, only to get another one to the face. "Ow!" he said on reflex.

He instantly clamped down hard on his mouth, to the point he almost made his tongue bleed. But his shout now echoed throughout the surrounding forest. Inwardly, he began cursing himself for the slip. _"Sasuke-sensei taught you better than that!"_

Sasuke really had taught him better than that. During their training in Lothlórien, brief as it may have been, the half-elf was still unsure of the times his teacher had been able to either sneak up on him or hear him coming. He had tried to learn as best he could, but then he went and did something like that. It was quite pathetic.

But even as he chastised himself, his eyes and his gaze were sharp. They kept searching the surrounding area of any slightest glimpse. When he saw, he was going after just as quickly as he had started chastising himself.

"_How fast can this person be if he outrun me?"_ he asked as he ran after the glimpse, using every little bit of training he had gotten from Sasuke to chase the glimpse. His natural speed, since he was a half-elf, was better than a normal Man but not as good as a full-blooded Elf. But he had been trained by Sasuke, it was better. Not as good as a full-blooded Elf, but better.

But right now, better wasn't good enough. For no matter how much he put into going after the glimpse, it would stay just out of sight and reach. Which was why when he came upon a clearing in the forest, there wasn't another glimpse waiting to be followed. Instead, there was a person standing there with his back turned to Izuna.

The half-elf stopped himself from going straight out into the clearing. Instead, he hung back and observed the person standing there in the clearing. He wore armor but it wasn't like any armor Izuna had seen before. It didn't cover the whole body, just the areas that needed protection while also keeping him able to move freely. From the way his shoulders were positioned, Izuna could tell that he was crossing his arms. What covered his feet were not boots, but some kind of shoe at the very least.

Despite being able to see all that, the half-elf still did not know who the person standing there was. It was only when the person moved slightly, causing his hair to shift, that he saw the sigil on the back of the armor. _"That's Sasuke-sensei's clan sigil," _he thought to himself as he looked at what he could see of the sigil. But to his very little knowledge, he had thought that he and his sensei were the only Uchihas left alive.

But perhaps…perhaps his sensei had been wrong. Maybe they weren't the only Uchihas left in the world. "Excuse me," he called out to the stranger's back, trying to get his attention.

It worked and the stranger began to turn around. But as he did, he began to morph into something different. What armor it wore vanished and was replaced with black cloth. Izuna didn't see his face because it had disappeared beneath the shadow created from the hood he now wore. Standing in the place of the would-be Uchiha was a Nazgûl, or to be more specific, the Tainted.

To Izuna, it had felt like his heart had stopped when he saw the Ringwraith that had haunted him for the longest time. Fear took ahold of him and he stumbled back, falling to the ground. "No," he whispered to himself. It was a word full of fear, pain, and utter terror.

The Tainted started making its way towards him and he scrambled backwards, trying to get away from the Nazgûl. But it still came towards him. Now, he felt like he was a child again, trying to hide from his nightmare. "Stay away!" he shouted.

But the Tainted did not listen to his command. It came towards him, getting closer with each step. He kept scrambling backwards until he hit the trunk of a tree. And still, the Tainted came closer. Thinking of no better alternatives, the half-elf reached for his wrist and channeled his chakra into the seal. Aeglos appeared in his hands and he held onto the glaive like it was his last line to his sanity.

The Tainted came even closer and he closed his eyes, wishing that this wasn't happening to him. He knew that Sasuke had told him to never close his eyes while fighting an enemy, but it was something he just did. To his surprise, when he opened his eyes again, the Tainted was gone.

He stood back on his feet to look around, but saw nothing. _"Where did it go?"_ he asked himself. Was it just his mind playing tricks on him? Or was the Tainted really there and had just been driven off? As that thought crossed his mind, he looked down at Aeglos. _"Are you protecting me, Grandfather?"_

He banished that thought almost as soon as it had appeared in his mind. His grandfather was dead; he had been dead for a long time. Izuna only had himself in that moment and if he was honest, he was ashamed on how he reacted when he saw the Tainted. His shame hung over him as he resealed the glaive of his grandfather and followed him as he went back the way he came, trying to find the Entmoot again.

He did not know how he found it (he had lost track and sense of direction when following those deceiving glimpses), but somehow, he was able to find the Entmoot again. He saw Treebeard standing over Merry and Pippin and made his way over to them, careful in how he approached.

"Well, that's good news," he heard Pippin say.

"What's good news?" he asked as he came closer, making them swing their attention to him.

"They've decided that we're not orcs."

"And what about Saruman?" asked Merry as he looked up at Treebeard. "Have you come to a decision about him?"

"**Now, don't be hasty, Master Meriadoc,"** the Ent said to him.

"Hasty?" he repeated. "Our friends are out there. They need our help. They cannot fight this war on their own."

**"War?"** the Ent said. **"Yes. It affects us all. Tree, root and twig. But you must understand, young Hobbit, it takes a long time to say anything in Old Entish and we never say anything unless it is worth taking a long time to say."**

As he turned to go back to the Entmoot, Izuna stared at his back and had only one thought. _"My forbearers helped them speak?"_ If they talked any slower, he and the two hobbits would be here for the rest of their lives. He was hoping that it wouldn't come to that.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

Sorry if that wasn't what you were expecting when it came to the help. Quite frankly, it's a bit earlier for the expected to come along.

The original idea had been for Izuna's grandfather to appear and banish the Tainted away, but that felt a little too easy for me, so I decided to go with the thought of him protecting his grandson.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	19. Fire, stone, and water

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 19: Fire, stone, and water

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Helm's Deep)

Things were becoming chaotic atop the Deeping Wall of Helm's Deep. No matter how many ladders Sasuke and the others knocked down, more and more kept propping themselves up against the wall, allowing Uruks to climb up. It was a slow process, but the Uruk-hai were beginning to outnumber the Elves on the Deeping Wall.

But Sasuke would not let that happen. If they ended the threat on the wall, that would hamper the chances of victory for the Uruks. That was enough for anyone to keep on fighting. And so he did. He kept on using the katana to dissect, stab, or behead any Uruk he was close enough to and knocked down any ladders in the process.

As he fought, he saw Gimli standing on the edge of the Deeping Wall between two ladders and was swinging his axe at each Uruk that came up them. "Seventeen! Eighteen! Nineteen! Twenty! Twenty-one!" the dwarf chanted each time his axe sent an Uruk falling to the earth. He was quite happy to be up there, until Sasuke pulled him down and sent the two ladders crashing to the ground. "I had a good thing going there, lad!" he said protest.

"We are here to repel a besieging army, not a bloody competition!" the raven-haired shinobi told him sharply before going back to the battle. Gimli grumbled, but joined him.

While the battle on the Deeping Wall raged on, a large group of Uruk-hai was marching up the causeway to the gate. The front and the top were protected by shields with Saruman's mark on them. It protected them from the defenders above the gate, but it left a glaring hole in their sides. Aragorn saw this from where he stood on the wall and drew attention to it. "Causeway!" he shouted at the elves around him, repeating the word in Sindarin.

The elves around him had gone back to using their bows on the Uruks below. When they heard his words, they immediately swung those bows to the causeway, and fire off a volley. Their arrows flew through the rain and hit the Uruks on the edge of the moving shield. Both Sasuke and Suigetsu saw this happen and the wielder of the Kubikiribōchō immediately put his hand to his ear.

"_Of course he and his team brought radios with them,"_ Sasuke thought to himself. No doubt Suigetsu was ordering the wielders of the Shibuki and the Hiramekarei (who were positioned above the gate) to get down there and deal with it. Before they did that, he would add something of his own. His hand became coated in lighting and he heard the familiar cry. **"Chidori Senbon!"** he said, swinging his hand and sending the jutsu flying through the air to the causeway. It struck the Uruks, causing more to collapse dead.

As all this raged on, the king of Rohan watched from where he stood. "Is this it?" he asked aloud. "Is this is all you can conjure, Saruman?" This was no different from when other enemies had tried to take Helm's Deep. Some of them had done better then what he was seeing. The two foreigners were destroying the group on the causeway, shattering the wall of shields they had.

But while his attention was on the causeway, something was happening at the bottom of the Deeping Wall. A couple of Uruks were carrying one of the spiked iron shells Saruman had created for them and were dragging it into the drain at the base of the Deeping Wall. They set right against the grate within the wall and then another one was brought in by a different couple of Uruks. The second one was placed atop the first.

When the two Uruks ran out of the grate, a path was cleared directly to that grate. One of the enraged Uruks was running at full speed towards it with a blazing torch. Aragorn, Sasuke, and the wielder of the Kabutowari saw the Uruk running. They hadn't seen the shells, but they still didn't like what it might do.

"Togo hon dad, Legolas (Bring him down, Legolas)!" shouted Aragorn to his friend. Legolas heard him and saw the Uruk with the torch. He nocked an arrow and fired it at the Uruk. It priced the part of the body between the shoulder and the neck, but the Uruk kept running. "Dago hon! Dago hon (Kill him! Kill him)!" the Ranger urged the elf, who fired another arrow.

It hit the Uruk, but it still kept running. The wielder of the Kabutowari began flipping his hands through a set of handseals, preparing a jutsu that might stop the Uruk, when quite possibly, the most weird yet effective thing of that entire siege happened: the torch-bearing Uruk, who had been running at full speed towards, tripped over a loose piece of rock and flew into the grate. What came next would be engraved into the memories of those who saw it for the rest of their lives.

The Deeping Wall exploded; there was no other way to describe it. The explosion tore through the stone with a loud roar and a bright flash of light. It was so loud that even those who were in the caves could hear it. Giant stones and boulders were blown upward into the sky, taking with them elves, Uruks, and the wielder of the Kabutowari, who had been standing in the exact center above the grate (they would later find him dead with no legs, but with his hands still firmly grasping the Kabutowari).

Those few who had gotten caught in the blast but were lucky enough to be wounded either fell off the Wall or to the sides of, dazed or completely unconscious. Among the survivors were a few of the elves, Aragorn, Sasuke, and Gimli. Out of all of them, Sasuke was the first to regain consciousness.

"_What happened?"_ he thought to himself as he got back to his feet. Then he looked and saw the answer right smack in his face was a large hole in the Deeping Wall. Uruks were already rushing towards it, but were pushed back by the sudden wave of water that fell upon them. Seeing an opportunity, he threw a **Chidori Senbon** at the water and watched in brief satisfaction as the water carried the electricity to the Uruk-hai, frying those who were nearest to the wall. The wielder of the Kiba, who stood behind the wall, saw what he had done and not wanting to just stand there, threw his own lightning jutsu at the water, adding to the effect and killing more Uruks.

While it may have been impressive to see, Sasuke only thought of one thing. _"Show off."_ He turned his attention back to the wall. There were still Uruks climbing up the ladders. He acted quickly by kicking one ladder down with the Uruk on the top still on.

Boromir saw the explosion happen and was just as shocked as the rest of the Men and Elves there. But once the noise died and the dust settled, he saw what had happened. He drew his sword and immediately went down the wall, praying to the Valar that his friends were still alive. Within seconds, he was fighting his way through Uruks. As he cut through them, he kept his focus on where his friends were.

As this all happened, Théoden's attention fell back to the gate and the causeway beyond. Both of the foreign warriors were fighting off the moving shield, until one of them was struck in the throat with a bolt and fell to the ground dead. The other grabbed his body and his weapon and ran back up the wall, but before getting a bolt to his back.

Once the defense was out of the way, a ram broke free of the moving shield, sending the Uruks on the edges off the causeway to their deaths, and was directed at the gate itself. "Brace the gate!" the king shouted, seeing what they were planning to do.

Men inside the fortress raced to the gate and pressed their weight against it just as the ram struck. They were thrown back, but pushed against it again. Above the gate, the defenders started raining down rocks and any kind of weapon they could use on the Uruk-hai, with only marginal success. "Hold them! Stand firm!" Théoden told them all.

Meanwhile, after the Raiton jutsus had stopped, the Uruk-hai began swarming the hole in the Deeping Wall, emerging on the other side to move forward and attack. Sasuke saw this and he also saw that Aragorn was coming to, but lay in the path of the Uruks. If he did not move, he would be killed.

Gimli saw the same thing he did. "Aragorn!" the dwarf cried out, leaping up from he lay on the wall. To the shock of all who saw him, he took a running leap off the wall and into the midst of the Uruks.

"Gimli!" shouted Aragorn as he came up to his feet. The dwarf stood up and started fighting off the Uruks around him, only to be knocked down into the water a few seconds later. "Hado i philinn (Release arrows)!" the Ranger cried to the elves behind him, gesturing with his sword. They fired a volley into the Uruks, slaying many at the front. "Herio (Charge)!" shouted Aragorn, holding his sword at the ready.

The elves who had their swords charged forward, running behind the Man who gave the order. The Uruks, having realized what they were doing, pushed forward through the hole in the wall and formed a line of pikes facing the elves. When the two forces met, most of the elves were able to swat aside the pikes and meet the Uruks in direct combat; some were not quick enough and were impaled.

Sasuke soon lost sight of Suigetsu on the wall and saw him again on the ground, pulling Gimli out of the water and then joining the wielders of Nuibari, Kiba, and Samehada in the fight. Then he took noticed of Boromir fighting alone against the Uruk-hai on the Deeping Wall. He was about to shout to Legolas to go to his aide when he saw the elf grab a Uruk-hai shield and promptly used it to slide down the nearby staircase, firing off arrows as he went. When he reached the bottom, he leapt off of the shield and joined the fray, using his arrows as well as his knives.

The Uchiha didn't join the fight below; he leapt to the other side of the Deeping Wall and began fighting his way to the Captain-General of Gondor.

(Location: Fangorn)

The Entmoot seemed to be done and Treebeard came back to the hobbits and half-elf. **"The Ents cannot hold back this storm,"** he told them. **"We must weather such things as we have always done." **

When he heard those words, Merry was enraged. "How can that be your decision?!" he demanded.

"**This is not our war,"** the Ent said.

"But you're part of this world!" He looked at all the Ents that were there. "Aren't you?!" he asked them all. They shared looks of uncertainty, unsure of what to do. "You must help. Please. You must do something."

"**You are young and brave, Master Merry,"** Treebeard said to him. **"But your part in this tale is over. Go back to your home."**

He turned to walk away, only to stop when Izuna spoke. "Cowards," the half-elf said, looking up at all the Ents with anger in his eyes. "You are all cowards! If my ancestors could see what has become of you now, they would weep at such a sight!" But the Ents remained silent and withdrew.

Seeing as they were given no other choice, the three non-Ents there had begun to pack their things. Pippin saw how down the other two looked and tried to put some cheer into them. "Maybe Treebeard's right," he said to them. "We don't belong here, Merry. It's too big for us. What can we do in the end? We've got the Shire and Izuna has Lothlórien. Maybe we should go home."

"The fires of Isengard will spread, and the woods of Tuckborough and Buckland will burn," Merry said in reply. "And…" He turned to look at his friend. "And all that was once green and good in this world will be gone. There won't be a Shire, Pippin."

"Nor will there be a Lothlórien," Izuna added. "For if the Enemy wins, I am sure that will be his first target."

The two left the Took alone with what they said, for it was grim facts and Pippin needed to think it over. But even as he did, that single thought kept repeating itself. _"What can we do?"_

(Location: Helm's Deep)

The battle was not going good. There were only so many elves on the Deeping Wall and behind it, but there were many more Uruks flooding in over the ladders and through the hole, making the odds more and more uneven. They had even lost the wielder of the Kiba to several Uruk-hai pikes. Théoden could see this happening and made a decision. "Aragorn!" he shouted down to the Ranger. "Fall back to the Keep! Get your men out of there!"

The Ranger heard his words and could see where the battle was going. "Nan Barad! Nan Barad (To the Keep! Pull back to the Keep)!" he began ordering the elves around him while still fighting off the Uruk-hai. He looked up and saw Haldir still on the wall. "Haldir, nan Barad (Haldir, to the Keep)!" he shouted to him.

Meanwhile, Legolas and another elven warrior dragged an annoyed and struggling Gimli to are you doing? What are you stopping for?" the dwarf demanded as he tried to get free and rejoin the fight.

Haldir began ushering and urging the elves on his side of the wall to go to the fortress. "Nan Barad (To the Keep)!" he called out to them. They began to run past him while he stayed in place, making sure that the rest would get there first. He struck down one Uruk but saw another on the edge of his sight. He turned to strike, but saw that Crabandir had already done so. "I thank you!" he said.

Crabandir only asked him one thing. "Have you seen Boromir?" While he leapt over and fought down this side of the wall, he had lost sight of the man from Gondor and that worried him.

Together they searched and it was Haldir who saw him. "There he is!" he cried, pointing the shinobi to Boromir.

Sasuke saw the Captain-General fighting alone while also helping the elves fall back to the keep. The Uruks seemed to have recognized the fact that he was a threat and began crowding him, forcing him to closer and closer to the edge of the Deeping Wall. The shinobi began fighting his way to him, only to watch as he slipped on a wet piece of rock and fell backwards from the wall.

Sasuke wanted to look for him on the ground, but there was no time. The Uruks were swarming in and the elves were retreating. Instead, he slaughtered the Uruks that had forced Boromir over the edge and took the man's place in helping the elves flee back up to the Keep. For every inch he gave up, he made sure that the Uruk-hai paid for it deeply with their deaths.

But those inches grew and added up, despite the many dead Uruks lying on the wall. He was soon forced to retreat like the rest of them, running up the steps with the last of the elves. He and they ran through the door leading into the Keep and it was shut immediately. There was no time for words or questions. They had to keep helping with the defenses. The elves were rearranged so that they covered the entrance they came from and the wall around it. The rest of them went for the gate.

The gate itself had been bashed in by the ram. It was a small hole at first but when the Uruks charged forward again and rammed the gate, it made the hole bigger and able to send the ram through it (while also catching someone on the end of it). The ram was drawn back and Uruks with crossbows appeared at the hole, firing their bolts into the men behind the gate. A few of the men were struck by the bolts and killed, but they had bows and they returned fire with their arrows.

Théoden saw what was happening at the gate and made a decision. "To the gate," he said to the men beside him as he drew his sword. "Draw your swords!"

They did as they were ordered and quickly made their way down to the gate. Once there, they joined the confusion of the fight. It was tight spacing due to the fact that it was a confined area and there were a lot of people standing there alongside them. Théoden was given a little room since he was the king and he used that room to get to the gate itself and attack the Uruks themselves.

His attack didn't last long before one of the Uruks pierced his armor with a pike, hitting his shoulder. He dropped his sword in the brief moment of pain that followed, but he reacted quickly by taking an offered spear and with a great cry, plunged it into the Uruk's throat.

He ripped out the pike, bringing a fresh wave of pain to his senses. He would have fallen had Gamling not grabbed him. "Make way!" cried Gamling as he pulled his king to safety. "We cannot hold much longer!" he said to Théoden they were out of harm's way.

The gate gave way a bit, prompting the guardsman to rejoin the fighting. Soon, Aragorn, Gimli, Sasuke, and Suigetsu along with the remaining members of the Seven Swordsmen joined the fight. "Hold them!" Théoden told Aragorn over the din of the battle.

"How long do you need?" Aragorn asked, looking back from the fight.

He took back his sword from Gamling. "As long as you can give me," he answered.

The Ranger nodded and turned to his friends "Gimli, Sasuke!" he said to them both, pushing them to a side passage.

"Suigetsu!" called out Sasuke.

The wielder of the Kubikiribōchō followed only after ordering the rest of the Swordsmen to stay there. Meanwhile, Théoden acted like the king he was, giving out commands. "Timbers!" he shouted to the men all around him. "Brace the gate!"

As the Uruks raced to the hole in the gate and fought their way through it, a door in the wall to the right of the causeway opened, allowing Aragorn, Gimli, Sasuke, and Suigetsu to come out onto a small rocky ledge. Aragorn took the lead, creeping silently along the ledge to take a look at the Uruks at the gate.

Gimli was right behind him and could see the same thing he saw. "Oh, come on. We can take them," he told the Ranger.

"It's a long way," Aragorn said in reply. Both Sasuke and Suigetsu took a quick look and saw that the distance between the ledge and the causeway was enough to make one pause. But for them, it would be no problem.

Gimli, on the other hand, was shorter than the others and saw a problem with the distance. So, with great reluctance, he said something he had hoped never to say. "Toss me."

Aragorn only heard him mumble and didn't exactly catch what he had said. "What?" he asked.

"I cannot jump the distance! You'll have to toss me!" the dwarf explained all in one breath. The Ranger nodded once in understanding. He reached for the dwarf's back but stopped when Gimli raised his hand. "Neither of you are telling the Elf this happened!" he said quietly, pointing his finger at both Sasuke and Aragorn.

Sasuke just nodded once in acknowledgement. "Not a word," Aragorn promised. He grabbed hold of the dwarf and tossed him at the causeway. Gimli flew through the air with a great shout and landed on the Uruks nearest to the gate. The other three quickly followed him onto the causeway.

"Back to back!" shouted Sasuke as he drew the katana and began killing the Uruk-hai. Aragorn and Gimli placed their backs against each other and Suigetsu, despite not understanding what he had said, did the same with Sasuke. Together, they kept the gate clear of the Uruk-hai (and even pushing them back down the causeway.

While they gave those behind the gate a respite, Théoden took it as an opportunity. "Shore up the door!" he commanded. Soldiers immediately went off to get the beams of lumber sent aside for such a thing and carried them back to the gate. Everyone soon joined in placing the beams in positions that would support the gate not being broken.

But as they repaired the gate, the Uruk-hai were bringing another invention of Saruman's into play. Four ballistas were being armed and nocked with giant grappling hooks pointed directly at the Outer Wall of the Hornburg. The first two were fired off successfully and hooked themselves onto the wall. While the defenders tried to get them free with no success, the Uruks pulled the ropes attached to the hooks taunt, allowing the giant siege ladders attached to the other end of the ropes to stand up, carrying many Uruks on them.

They landed themselves on the wall and the Uruk-hai began to climb onto the wall. While the men and elves on the wall stopped the first few getting over, the rest soon came. The third grappling hook was launched and attached, but Legolas took notice of this and fired one arrow at the rope attached to the hook. It was severed and the ladder that was attached to the rope hung in the air before falling backwards and crushing several Uruks beneath it.

While the men and dwarf on the causeway saw this happen, they knew that there was nothing they could do about it. All they could do was keep their attention on the Uruk-hai on the causeway. Sasuke and Suigetsu were at the front; Aragorn and Gimli were at the back dealing with any that got past the first two.

It was a practical method, but the numbers were not on their side and more Uruks began slipping past Suigetsu and Sasuke. Eventually Théoden, who could see what was happening on the other side of the gate, called out to them. "Gimli! Aragorn!" he shouted to the two nearest to him, getting their attention. "Get out of there!" He helped put a beam of lumber over the hole he was talking through, ending the conversation.

Since both of them had their attention on the king, Aragorn or Gimli did not see an Uruk slip past Sasuke and Suigetsu, allowing said Uruk to grab both of them. Legolas saw what was happening to them and grabbed a bundle of rope. "Aragorn!" he called down to the Ranger, throwing the rope down to them.

Sasuke saw the Uruk holding Aragorn and Gimli still. He stepped away from Suigetsu and swiftly decapitated the Uruk, freeing the two. "Go!" he urged them towards the rope. "We'll hold them back!"

Aragorn grabbed hold of both Gimli and the rope. As Legolas began to pull them to safety, the fourth ballista fired and landed on the Outer Wall, allowing a third ladder to be pulled upward onto it. And still, the Elf pulled the Man and the Dwarf up the wall and then over it, to relative safety.

"So why did they go and not us?" Suigetsu asked as the two of them faced the Uruk-hai alone.

"They can't run up walls," Sasuke told him as he decapitated an Uruk.

"Not what I meant. They were leaving, why didn't we?"

"I didn't think you would be a coward," he remarked.

Suigetsu beheaded an Uruk and then looked at him. "Nice try, Sasuke. Those attempts to get me riled up won't work anymore. I've grown up."

He usually didn't say anything like what he was about to say, but this was just too good of an opportunity to pass up on. "Is that why Karin didn't come along?"

The Kiri shinobi just scowled at him before going back to the battle. They tried to hold the tide back, but more and more Uruks slipped pass them and went for the gate. They gave ground to protect the gate, but that only allowed the Uruks to press forward and crowd them more. It was only when Suigetsu got bludgeoned on the head and fell unconscious that Sasuke abandoned the defense. He grabbed hold of his companion and leapt to the wall.

As he looked on at everything that was happening, Théoden could see where things were going. "Pull everybody back. Pull them back," he ordered Gamling.

His guardsman looked briefly at him with an expression of surprise and shock. But when the king walked away, he did as he was ordered. "Fall back! Fall back!" he shouted for all to hear.

A few people did not believe the order when they heard it and held their positions. But there were more did and fell back as ordered. The confusion that followed was enough for the Uruks to break through the supports on the gate. "They have broken through! The castle is breached," Theoden shouted for all to hear as the Uruk-hai charged through the gate. "Retreat! Retreat!"

As the men and elves retreated from their places on the walls and ran into the Keep, Aragorn and the others were there to make sure that they got there. "Hurry! Inside. Get them inside!" Aragorn urged the defenders passing him by.

"There are stragglers!" Legolas cried out, seeing that there were a few more soldiers still on the walls, still fighting even when they were getting swarmed by the Uruk-hai.

"We can't do anything for them!" Sasuke told the elf as he tried to stem the flow of Uruks just a little longer. "We have to go!" While Legolas did not like what he said, there was no denying the truth, there was nothing they could do. The stragglers died quickly and the rest of the defenders soon barricaded themselves in the Keep.

(Location: Fangorn)

Treebeard walked through the forest with Pippin and Merry on his shoulders. Izuna walked beside the Ent's feet, always keeping a lookout for something moving in the trees. **"I will leave you at the western borders of the forest,"** Treebeard said to the hobbits. **"You can make your way north to your homeland from there."** He looked at the half-elf among them. **"Then I shall take you to the eastern borders, Master Izuna, so you might head to Lothlórien." **

No one said a word; they were too shrouded in the feeling of defeat from the Entmoot. But as the Ent, Pippin had an idea that pierced through the shroud. "Wait! Stop! Stop!" he told the Ent, making him stop. "Turn around. Turn around. Take us south."

"**South?"** the Ent repeated, surprised at the words. **"But that will lead you past Isengard."**

"Yes. Exactly," the Took's friends were confused by his words, so he explained it to them. "If we go south, we can slip past Saruman unnoticed. The closer we are to danger, the farther we are from harm. It's the last thing he'll expect."

"**That doesn't make sense to me,"** Treebeard admitted. **"But then…you are very small. Perhaps you're right. South it is, then. Hold on, little Shirelings,"** he said to them as he turned around. **"I always like going south. Somehow it feels like going downhill."**

As they went in the new direction, Merry looked up at Pippin. "Are you mad?" he asked. "We'll be caught."

"No, we won't," Pippin said in reply. "Not this time."

Izuna looked up at him when he heard those words. _"Does he have a plan?"_ the half-elf asked himself. Whatever that plan was, he did know it. It was best now to just follow the Ent.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

If any of you have remarks some of the Swordsmen dying, please remember I said that they could take Helm's Deep with only seven of them. Taking and defending are too different things. Besides, someone would've complained if I had them all come out in the end alive.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	20. Open the gates

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 20: Open the gates

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Fangorn)

They were soon coming upon the southern end of Fangorn and Treebeard was regaling them with all the stories of all the creatures and trees he had known throughout his long life along the way. **"And those little family of field mice that climb up sometimes, and they tickle me awfully,"** he told the hobbits and the half-elf with a chuckle as they came to the edge of the trees. **"They're always trying to get somewhere where they…"** His voice trailed off into a gasp of surprise as he looked at the scene before him.

What had been more trees and life in the forest was now simply devastation. They could see stumps here and there, but the trees were gone, the ground with burnt ash, and the sky was grey with smoke. **"Many of these trees were my friends,"** Treebeard said as he looked at the aftermath of destruction. **"Creatures I had known from nut and acorn."**

"I'm sorry, Treebeard," Pippin said to him. Truly, he was. He came from the Shire and he appreciated beauty in nature as much as the next hobbit. But even he could admit that what he felt was nothing compared to the Ent.

"**They had voices of their own,"** he mourned. But then he saw what lay beyond the destroyed forest. He saw Isengard and he said only one word, **"Saruman."**

Izuna looked up at the Ent, noticing that he was trembling. "Treebeard, is everything alright?" he asked. He knew that was probably the wrong thing to ask at the moment, but he did not know why the Ent was trembling.

"**A wizard should know better!"** Treebeard declared in an angry voice. Then he took a breath and roared. It seemed like the word didn't do justice to what they were hearing and yet at the same time, it seemed like the only word that could be used. The roar pierced the air and echoed throughout the forest of Fangorn, filled with anger and sorrow. And as he listened, Izuna realized that the Ent was trembling with rage.

When Treebeard stopped roaring, it still echoed in the air over the forest. **"There is no curse in Elvish, Entish, or the tongues of Men for this treachery," **he declared.

A faint noise appeared in Pippin's ear that grew louder quickly. When he turned to see where that noise was coming from, he saw the answer immediately. "Look! The trees! They're moving!" he told Merry and Izuna.

They both turned to see what Pippin was seeing and saw the forest of Fangorn literally _moving_ down the mountains and into the plains. "Where are they going?" Merry asked Treebeard, surprised to see such a thing.

"**They have business with the Orcs,"** the Ent told him. **"My business is with Isengard tonight…with rock and stone." **

More groaning noises came out of the forest behind them. But this was not the singular noise of the trees moving, there was more than one and there were several different pitches. It became obvious what was making that noise when the rest of the Ents appeared from the edge of the forest. They did not move in a uniformed line or at the pace, but they were there and they saw the same devastation.

Merry looked at the Ents and then at Isengard. "Yes!" he said when he realized what was going to happen. Izuna looked up at Pippin for a brief moment, wondering if this had been his plan all along.

"**Come, my friends. The Ents are going to war,"** Treebeard declared. **"It is likely that we go to our doom. The last march…of the Ents." **All of the Ents marched upon Isengard, their anger showing in their steps.

(Location: Helm's Deep)

The sound of the Uruk-hai ram banging against the doors to the Keep was a constant sound. But what was also a constant sound was the last defenders placing whatever they could find up against the doors as a form of a barricade. It would not last, they knew that. But they still shoved tables, benches and chairs up against them.

Theoden did not see why they would keep on going. "The fortress is taken," he told them all from where he stood in the Keep. "It is over."

"You said this fortress would never fall while your men defend it," Aragorn reminded him as he, Legolas, and Sasuke ran for another bench. "They still defend it. They have died defending it," the Ranger said while handing the bench off to the other two.

Sasuke helped Legolas brace the bench against the door and then went over to check Suigetsu's team. "Is everything okay?" he asked.

"More or less, but I've got a splitting headache," Suigetsu replied. "And honestly, that banging isn't helping things." Just then, they heard the ram bash against the doors. "See?" Sasuke silently rolled his eyes, despite the fact he was glad his friend was okay.

"Is there no other way for the women and children to get out of the caves?" Aragon asked the king of Rohan as he went past and looked at the entrance to the caves in the Keep. When Theoden didn't answer, he looked back. "Is there no other way?"

Théoden didn't answer, but Gamling did. "There is one passage. It leads into the mountains," he told the Ranger. "But they will not get far. The Uruk-hai are too many." The sound of the doors being struck rung out again, proving his point.

But if there was no other choice, there was no other choice. "Tell the women and children to make for the mountain pass. And barricade the entrance!" Aragorn ordered him.

"So much death," Théoden said, making them both stop in their tracts. "What can Men do against such reckless hate?" he asked them both.

"The same thing Men have always done," Sasuke said, speaking to him and to all the defenders in the hall. They all turned their heads to see what he had to say, both Men and Elves, both wounded and able-bodied. "We stand up and say in defiance, 'It will go no further.'"

The doors were pounded again by the ram, making most of the people who could go back to the door, barricading it even more. Aragorn stood there in the middle of the hall, thinking about what had happened during the night and what he had heard. They did not know what had happened to Boromir, Haldir had lost his left arm, and they had lost many good Men and Elves. Now, they were on their last legs.

But as he thought those thoughts, an idea came to him, one that bordered on insanity but also made sense. "Ride out with me," he said to Théoden, who looked at him. "Ride out and meet them."

"For death and glory," the king said, seemingly agreeing with him.

"For Rohan. For your people," the Ranger corrected him.

"The sun is rising," Gimli said making note of what he saw through the nearby window.

Aragorn saw the same thing as the dwarf did, the light through the window brightening as the seconds rolled past. As he watched, he remembered what Gandalf had told him when Edoras was preparing to leave.

"_Look to my coming at first light on the fifth day. At dawn…look to the east." _

He looked back at Théoden. "Yes…yes…" the king said, finally understanding what he was trying to say. He walked past the Ranger and declared to the hall, "The horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound in the Deep one last time!"

"Yes!" Gimli agreed with a growl. "King Théoden, I shall sound the horn!" He raced off out of the hall quicker than anyone could protest.

The ram struck the doors, this time cracking them ever so slightly. But the Lord of the Mark did not pay attention to it. Instead, he clasped a hand on Aragorn's shoulder. "Let this be the hour when we draw swords together," he said to the Ranger, who nodded in agreement.

"Hey, what's going?" Suigetsu asked Sasuke as they watched the rest of the defenders rapidly scramble into formation, which included brining the horses from the nearby stable into the hall itself.

"They're planning a suicide attack," Sasuke said, seeing it for what it was. "Get up and go get Jūgo," he told the Kiri shinobi.

"What? Why?"

"Because we're following them on foot and finishing what they won't be able," he said. Suigetsu wanted to grumble, but one look from the raven-haired Uchiha was enough to make him go for the caves and retrieve Jūgo. When the orange-haired man arrived and listened to what Sasuke had to say to him, he only nodded in acknowledgement.

The doors broke some more, losing some the braces propped up against it. But that did not concern the defenders of Helm's Deep. They sat on their horses with swords drawn and waited. The seconds ticked past and they kept waiting. "Fell deeds, awake. Now for wrath, now for ruin, and a red dawn!" chanted Théoden as he placed his helmet on his head, saying a prayer of war that had been with the Rohirrim long before they settled in this land.

As the doors finally broke apart and the Uruk-hai swarmed in, Gimli blew the horn of Helm Hammerhand. Unlike the clear notes of the Elven horns or the sharp blast of the Horn of Gondor, this horn roared into the air and down into the earth. It was a deep, guttural sound that seemed to set the stone beneath the hooves and feet to rumble and also make the mountains surrounding the fortress shake.

But there was more to the horn then just those things. As he listened to the horn roaring through the air and the stone, Théoden felt his blood begin to race, urging him to ride forward and attack. He did not stop himself from heeding that feeling. He embraced it, raising his sword and crying the ancient battle-cry of Rohan, "FORTH EORLINGAS!"

The last defenders of Helm's Deep responded to the cry with their own. They urged their horses forward at a full gallop, smashing into the Uruk-hai and then cleaving through them like a hot knife through butter. The Uruks could do nothing to stop their advance nor could they stop the shinobi who followed in the wake of the horses.

"Don't destroy the fortress," Sasuke said as he beheaded one Uruk and sent another ablaze with a jutsu. "Other than that, do whatever you can to kill them."

"You got it!" Suigetsu said with a bloodthirsty grin, using the Kubikiribōchō to split an Uruk in half and then behead another. Then he folded his free hand into a familiar position. **"Suiton: Mizudeppō no Jutsu **(Water Style: Water Gun Jutsu)**!"** he cried, shooting out a compressed bullet of water at the Uruks, sending it through several heads.

Jūgo simply grew axes out of his forearms and butchered the Uruks all around him. Together, the three of them followed the riders out of the Keep and down the steps, killing the Uruk-hai that were left in the wake.

Theoden led his men down the steps and then out into the causeway, with the horn still blowing, making the blood of the men of Rohan to sing, _"Ride! Ride on! Ride your swift steed and swing your bright blade down upon your enemies! Ride on!"_ They rode down the causeway then into the horde of Uruks. There their horses stopped, but they still fought. Moments later, Sasuke, Jūgo, and Suigetsu joined them in the fight.

In the midst of the confusion of battle, Aragorn heard the neighing of a familiar horse. Turning his head to see where it came from, he saw a white horse atop the nearby hill, with a rider in white riding. "Gandalf," he said with silent hope in his voice.

The other defenders of Helm's Deep saw what the Ranger saw and paused in the fight. Soon, the Uruk-hai turned to see what they saw and saw another horse-rider join the White Wizard. Only this one was garbed in the armor of Rohan. The sound of his sword being drawn filled the valley. In a loud voice, he uttered one word, "Rohirrim!" At that word, the cavalry of the Rohirrim, famed and legendary throughout Middle-Earth, appeared at his back.

A smile came to Théoden's face. He knew that voice and he knew that rider. "Éomer," he said, looking upon his sister-son.

"TO THE KING!" shouted the Third Marshall of the Mark. The Rohirrim at his back echoed the shout as they, along with their leader and Gandalf, charged down the hill at full speed at the Uruk-hai. The creations of Saruman realized this new threat and promptly redeployed. A new line was formed at the base of the hill with a virtual wall of pikes held there. Anyone could see that the horsemen riding down the hill would be skewering themselves against the pikes.

But what the Uruks did not know (or take notice of) was that the sun was rising sun was right behind the hill and it crested at just the right moment. While Uruks were better at handling daylight, they were by no means immune to it and the light of the morning sun was most painful to their eyes. Many of them closed their eyes to block the brightness and in doing so, the pikes they wielded were either dropped or lifted up.

That was all the reinforcements of Helm's Deep needed to smash through their line and turn the tide of battle. Once they saw this all happen, the defenders of Helm's Deep vigorously rejoined the fight.

(Location: Isengard)

What was happening in Isengard could very well have been qualified as a massacre. The orcs working in the depths and on the grounds of the fortress were by no means prepared for when the Ents came over the walls and began crushing and/or swatting them like flies. They tried to shoot the Ents down but their arrows were like the stinging of bees to the guardians of Fangorn, annoying but soon forgettable.

They could not stop the flow of the Ents coming into Isengard either. Treebeard had led the assault by first tearing away the wall so they could climb over it. Now, that same part of the wall was used for large boulder-like pieces of the wall to be thrown into Isengard, smashing any orcs that they landed one.

Both Merry and Pippin still sat atop of Treebeard but that did not mean they weren't apart of the fight. They hurled small stones at orcs below with very good accuracy. But even they stopped to watch Treebeard throw a boulder at a few orcs who had pulled down one of the Ents (and were currently trying to hack it apart). "Yes!" Pippin cheered when he saw the orcs get smashed and the Ent stand back up.

"**A hit. A fine hit,"** Treebeard said as he watched the hobbit throw a stone at an orc, sending it into the deeps.

"Where is Izuna?" Merry asked as he quickly looked around the battle, having lost sight of the half-elf.

"There he is!" Pippin shouted, looking directly in front of them. Izuna was cutting a path through the orcs with Aeglos in his hands. After killing orcs who had fire-arrows in their bows (and saving the Ent they were attacking), they began to flee from him, fearing his glaive.

Treebeard could see that the Ents had the advantage in the battle. The orcs were being killed and what wooden structures that had been built above ground were being torn down. But now it was time to deliver the final blow. **"Break the dam!"** he cried up to the Ents around the dam. **"Release the river!"**

For a second, nothing happened. Then the river appeared, roaring like a rage-filled beast as it flowed swiftly down to Isengard, destroying everything the orcs had made in its wake. "Pippin!" said Merry to his friend when he realized what was about to happen. "Hold on!"

Izuna also saw what was going to happen and quickly went for the nearest Ent. "Sorry, I hope you don't mind!" he said to the Ent as he climbed for the top. The Ent did not reply, for it was holding itself in a brace for the incoming water.

He wasn't the only one. Each and every one of the Ents was readying themselves for the incoming river. **"Hold on, little Hobbits,"** Treebeard told Merry and Pippin as the water struck. They did just that, but they could feel the power of the water from where they stood on Treebeard. To their relief, Treebeard held firm (as did the rest of the Ents, although the one who had been set afire had dipped his head into the water) as the water washed away what Saruman had created in Isengard.

(Location: Helm's Deep)

The battle had turned against the Uruk-hai and while they could've fought on to the last of them, fear had gripped them in such a way that the remaining numbers did fight, they turned tail and ran. The men of Rohan chased them out of the valley of Helm's Deep, only to stop when Éomer rode in front of them. "Stay out of the forest!" he shouted for all to hear. "Keep away from the trees!"

Sasuke, Jūgo, and Suigetsu were front of the horses, so they could clearly see the Uruk-hai fleeing into the trees before them. "Uh…Sasuke," Suigetsu said as he looked. "I know it was dark when we got here, but I am fairly certain that there wasn't a forest right there."

Just as the last Uruk disappeared into the depth of the forest, they all saw something that they did not expect to see: the forest came alive. They saw the trees begin to move back and forth and they could hear the screams of the Uruk-hai as they were killed. What they had started, the trees were finishing.

* * *

Later, when they were sure that the Uruk-hai had been all killed, they began the task collecting the dead inside Helm's Deep. Most of it was behind the Deeping Wall and that was where Legolas found Gimli, sitting on an Uruk and smoking his pipe. "Final count…forty-two," he told the dwarf as he idly checked his bow.

"Forty-two?" repeated Gimli, sounding impressed. "That's not bad for a pointy-eared Elvish princeling." He smiled triumphantly. "I myself am sitting pretty on forty-three."

Suddenly, the elf drew, nocked, and fired an arrow at the Uruk Gimli was sitting on, surprising him. "Forty-three," the elf declared.

"He was already dead," the dwarf replied, sounding very annoyed.

"He was twitching."

"He was twitching because he's got my axe embedded in his nervous system!" he explained, grabbing said axe and jerking it around, making the dead Uruk shake.

"My lords!" shouted one of the soldiers near the wall, getting their attention. He was standing next to a body that they quickly recognized as Boromir's.

Their argument immediately forgotten, they rushed over. "Send for Gandalf, Aragorn, and Crabandir!" Legolas ordered the soldier, who quickly rushed away.

The two of them was left with Boromir. They could see the blood seeping from the wounds he had gotten from multiple arrows that had pierced his armor. To them, it almost seemed too many to count. "Boromir?" said Gimli, hoping that he wasn't gone.

To the dwarf's relief, the Captain-General of Gondor opened his eyes. But that relief was quickly washed away when he saw the pain in those eyes. "At least I will see friendly faces before I go," Boromir said in a voice that showed he was going and with blood falling from the corners of his mouth.

Fortunately, the others Legolas had wanted were close by and came swiftly. The two Men and the Wizard joined the Elf and the Dwarf and Aragorn went to his knees. His hands began searching, to see if there was a way to save his friend. But they soon stopped when the Ranger saw that there was no way to save him. Gandalf knelt beside him and looked Boromir in the eye. "How long were you poisoned?" the Wizard asked.

The others looked at him in shock, but the man from Gondor answered him. "Since Amon Hen," he answered. "I was pierced by an arrow."

"But we had managed to pull that arrow safely out of you!" Legolas said in protest.

"The poison remained. It affected my strength." The other members of the Fellowship who had been with him remembered those times when he had seemingly lost his strength and he claimed that he was just tried. His breathing became weaker and weaker with breath he took. "Aragorn…" he said, his eye looking wildly around, like he couldn't see the Ranger.

"I'm right here, Boromir," Aragorn told him, his hands grasping his.

His eyes found him. "When you go to the White City, take my horn and shield." He shrugged his arms weakly, like he was trying to take the items off but couldn't. "Give, give them to my brother. Tell him my duty falls to him." He could barely say the words now, but he still did.

"I will, Boromir. You have my word."

He smiled weakly and reached for his sword. His fingers touched the hilt but could do no more, until Aragorn helped him take hold of the sword. He lifted it up and placed it against his heart in one last salute. "I'm proud to have followed you, my brother, my Captain, my King." he said to the Ranger. Then the light in his eyes faded, and so did he.

They all stayed where they stood, looking at their friend. Aragorn reached out and cradled his head. "Be at peace, son of Gondor," he whispered, but they could all hear it.

(Location: Isengard)

The two hobbits and the half-elf stood in the water that had flooded Isengard. The Ents were moving around the area, either cleaning up or watching the black tower. "He doesn't look too happy, does he?" Merry asked rhetorically as the three of them looked up at Saruman and Wormtongue, who stood on the balcony, looking around in shocked surprise.

"Not too happy at all, Merry," Pippin agreed.

"Still, I suppose the view would be quite nice from up there."

"Oh, yes. It's a quality establishment. I hear the staff are very good."

"You two are having a little too much fun with this," Izuna remarked, looking down at them. While the water went up to their waists, he only stood knee-depth in it. He watched silent as Merry began measuring the height between him and Pippin, hiding an amused smirk.

Pippin felt something going on behind him, but when he turned to look all he saw was Merry fiddling with his hair. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing," Merry answered. "The world's back to normal, that's all."

"No, it isn't. I'm starving." He could hear his stomach growling.

The Brandybuck understood what he was talking about. "Good luck trying to find something decent around here. Probably only dead rats and mouldy bread," he groused as he picked up a nearby basket and started tossing out what was in it.

Pippin would've said something if he hadn't seen a red apple floating past him in the water. He grabbed hold of it, looked at it as he pulled out of the water, and then looked up. Izuna saw what he was doing and also saw the apple. "Where did that come from?" he asked.

Pippin only turned around and followed the trail of apples, only to drop the ones in his arms when he saw the roast chicken floating in the water. When he saw a basket full of apples, he quickly put the chicken in it and kept moving forward with Merry and Izuna behind him.

They stopped in their tracks when they saw where exactly the food was coming from and couldn't believe their eyes. Even so, they were happy to see it all. "Saruman's storeroom!" said Merry with a flagon of wine in his hands as he looked at all the food that hung there. It was a complete feast of meats, vegetables, breads, spices, sauces ale, and wines.

But there was something even more incredible and it was the sight of two small barrels sitting on a ledge. "I don't believe it," Pippin declared as he stared at the barrels

"It can't be," Merry agreed as he stared at the barrels. Maybe the words they saw were lying.

"It can't be what?" Izuna asked the two of them, confused by their words.

But they didn't hear him. Instead, they went straight for the barrels, pulled one down, and opened its lid. "It is!" Pippin said once he saw what was inside.

Merry stared at the leaves inside the barrel. "Longbottom Leaf." He took a deep smell of it with his nose and declared, "The finest pipe-weed in South Farthing."

"It's perfect. One barrel each," his friend declared, handing him the barrel and getting the other one.

"Can't I try some?" Izuna asked hopefully from where he stood. If this was some of the finest pipe-weed, he wanted to try it.

"Of course," Pippin told him earnestly. Then he paused and looked at Merry. "Do you think we should share it with Treebeard?"

"Share it?" repeated Merry, surprised by the question. He thought about it and then shook his head. "No. No. Dead plant and all that," he explained, picking up a leaf and then putting it back in the barrel. "Don't think he'd understand." He leaned in closer to Pippin and whispered, "Could be a distant relative."

The Took got the point. "I get it." He tapped the side of his nose. "Don't be hasty," he said with a grin.

"Exactly," the other hobbit replied as he whipped out his pipe. "Bar-hrum," he said, imitating the Ent

That made both of the hobbits start to laugh madly, even more so when they started to smoke the weed. Izuna listened to the laughter and began to laugh himself, until a shadow fell over him. He turned to see Treebeard looking down into the larder. Both Merry and Pippin, who had smoking pipes in their hands, instantly stopped laughing.

For a moment, nothing was said. Then Izuna opened his mouth. "There is a perfectly good reason for this."

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

Yes, Boromir has died. For those of you who wanted him to live throughout the story, oh well. Just so you know this wasn't a spur of the moment kind of thing. I had this planned since the beginning of the story.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	21. Last words

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 21: Last words

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Isengard)

Merry, Pippin, and Izuna were lying about on the ruined wall of Isengard. After having explained what was going on in the storeroom, Izuna was fairly certain that Treebeard wasn't offended. And as there wasn't really anything they could do, they opted to stay near or on the wall to keep an eye out for people while also watching the forest move in.

And so, they decided to enjoy themselves. "It's good. Definitely from the Shire," Merry declared as he smoked his pipe. "Longbottom leaf eh?"

Pippin agreed with him, feeling happy and content. "I feel like I'm back at the Green Dragon," he said.

While Izuna did not know what that meant, Merry did. "Green Dragon!" he repeated while also eating a piece of food.

"A mug of ale in my hand. Putting my feet up on a settle after a hard day's work," he finished, swinging his legs a little as they hung in the air.

Merry took a drink of ale, paused, and looked at his friend. "Only, you've never done a hard day's work."

Izuna looked at the two of them and then looked at Isengard itself. "What do you call all of this?" he asked the hobbits. A second of silence passed and the three of them started laughing about it all.

The sound of a horse neighing made their laughter go quiet, but the sight of Gandalf atop of Shadowfax as well as the Men of Rohan and their fellow friends made them laugh again in greeting, especially Pippin who raised his mug in salute to them. "Welcome, my lords to Isengard!" Merry said to them, standing up and wobbling a little.

As the riders brought their horses to a halt to look at the three of them, Sasuke took notice of his student and saw something was wrong. But before he could speak, Gimli did. "You young rascals," the dwarf shouted up at them. "A merry hunt you've led us on and now we find you feasting and, and smoking!"

"We are sitting on a field of victory enjoying a few well-earned comforts," Pippin explained to him while eating a sandwich. "The salted pork is particularly good."

"Salted pork…" Gimli repeated, liking the sound of that. He could enjoy a bit of salted pork right now.

Gandalf had something else to say about it. "Hobbits!" he declared quietly to himself with a small shake of his head.

"We're under orders from Treebeard who's taken over management of Isengard," Merry informed them all.

"Then take us to him," the White Wizard told the hobbit.

"Wait," Sasuke said, still looking at his student. "Izuna, we need to talk." He turned and rode his horse away from the group, back into the quietness of the forest. Izuna quickly hopped down from the ruined wall and followed his sensei into the forest. Once they were far enough away from the others, Sasuke got down from his horse and faced Izuna. "What happened?"

Izuna opened his mouth to speak, but closed it when he felt that they weren't alone. "Who's there?" he demanded, turning his head to see a tall, orange-haired man standing by a tree in silence.

"Jūgo, give us some room," Sasuke said to the man, who turned around and walked away. He turned back to Izuna. "What happened?"

It just came out of the half-elf. "When I was in Fangorn, I think the Tainted found me. I wasn't sure if it was an apparition or not, but everything that you had taught me fled in that moment. I was…paralyzed with fear. I'm sorry." He hung his head in shame once he was done.

"Izuna," Sasuke spoke, making him raise his head again. "Everyone has known fear; to say otherwise would be a lie. The question is whether you let fear be a sword, or a cloak."

"I don't understand."

"A sword of fear will cut into you and make you hesitate. But a cloak will envelop you and sharpen your senses, making you fight harder, stronger, longer, all because you admit that you are afraid." He turned back to the horse. "Let's go back to the others."

Izuna found those words to be cryptic and confusing. He wanted to say something in protest, but his sensei was already leaving on the horse. So, he followed after him.

* * *

They rode their horses through the water that had flooded the place, with the hobbits riding behind the men and holding on. The only person who wasn't riding a horse was Izuna, as he was walking on the water with Aeglos in his hands. They were soon met by Treebeard. **"Young master Gandalf, I'm glad you've come,"** the Ent greeted the Wizard. **"Wood and water, stock and stone I can master, but there is a Wizard to manage here locked in his tower."**

Aragorn looked up at the tower of Orthanc. "Show yourself," he quietly commanded Saruman.

Even though he said it quietly, Gandalf heard him. "Be careful," he warned everyone there. "Even in defeat, Saruman is dangerous."

"Well then let's just have his head and be done with it," Gimli declared.

"No, we need him alive. We need him to talk."

"I can make him talk," Sasuke told him.

Before he could say anything in reply, Saruman appeared at the pinnacle of the tower. "You have fought many wars and slain many men, Théoden King, and made peace afterwards," he said, his voice amplifying itself so that those at the base could hear him. "Can we not take counsel together as we once did, my old friend? Can we not have peace you and I?"

That voice sounded very familiar to Théoden, who had heard it many times before when he had taken control of. "We shall have peace…" he began to say, looking up at the pinnacle. "We shall have peace when you answer for the burning of the Westfold and the children that lie dead there! We shall have peace when the lives of the soldiers whose bodies were hewn even as they lay dead against the gates of the Hornburg are avenged! When you hang from a gibbet for the sport of your own crows, we shall have peace!" he promised.

The face that Saruman had on, one that supposedly spoke of wisdom and patience, morphed into an ugly expression. "Gibbets and crows? Dotard!" he cursed the King of Rohan before turning his attention to the other White Wizard. "What do you want Gandalf Greyhame? Let me guess, the key of Orthanc? Or perhaps the keys of Barad-Dûr itself? Along with the crowns of the seven Kings and the rods of the Five Wizards!?" he demanded.

"_That sounds like something out of a bad adventure book,"_ Sasuke thought to himself. He would know. He used to love those books when he had been a kid.

Gandalf was not fazed by the words of his former friend. "Your treachery has already cost many lives," he replied. "Thousands more are now at risk. But you could save them Saruman. You were deep in the enemy's counsel."

A pleased expression appeared on Saruman's face. "So you have come here for information. I have some for you," he declared, pulling the palantir out from his robes. "Something festers in the heart of Middle Earth. Something that you have failed to see. But the great eye has seen it!" He lowered the palantir and hid it in his robes again. "Even now he presses his advantage. His attack will come soon."

Gandalf rode forward on Shadowfax, even as he kept talking. "You are all going to die! But you know this don't you, Gandalf? You cannot think that this Ranger will ever sit upon the throne of Gondor." The traitor Istari looked down at Aragorn with nothing but contempt in his eyes. "This exile, crept from the shadows, will never be crowned King."

He looked at all the others there. "Gandalf does not hesitate to sacrifice those who are closest to him. Those he professes to love!" Everyone at the base of the tower began to look unsure of what they knew. Saruman saw his advantage and pressed it. "Tell me, what words of comfort did you give the Halfling before you sent him to his doom?" he asked Gandalf. "The path that you have set him on can only lead to death."

Hearing no answer, he turned to look down at Izuna. "And what kind words did your mother say to you, half-elf, before she was taken away from you? You've seen the darkness that is able to order such a thing and yet you join with these fools? I would think the elves would've parted some of their wisdom upon you. I can see that I was wrong."

Izuna wanted to reply, but he could feel the gaze of his sensei upon his back. So he said nothing. But Gimli had something to say. "I've heard enough! Shoot him!" he told Legolas. "Stick an arrow in his gob!"

The elf reached for an arrow but stopped when Gandalf said, "No!" He looked up at the pinnacle. "Come down Saruman and your life will be spared!"

"Save your pity and your mercy. I have no use for it!" Saruman shouted back, conjuring up a fireball at the end of his staff and shooting it at his former friend.

But as it flew down, Sasuke acted. He flashed through handseals and finished with a resounding clap. **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"** he shouted, breathing out a large fireball. The two fireballs clashed against one another, snuffing each other out in a mere instant.

Gandalf still sat on Shadowfax, having not moved a muscle in the moments that had followed. "Saruman…" he began. "Your staff is broken! I cast you out of the order of the Istari!" The staff in Saruman's hand burst asunder, scaring the hand easily enough that blood began to drip. He could only stare at the hand in shock and surprise before turning his gaze downward, his eyes still full of hate.

Théoden watched this all in silence. But he could not that silence when he saw another man come into sight atop the pinnacle of Orthanc. "Gríma!" he called out to Wormtongue. "You need not follow him! You were not always as you are now. You were once a man of Rohan. Come down."

Gríma faltered, unsure of what to do. He turned away, only to stop when Saruman spoke. "A man of Rohan?" the former Istari repeated. "What is the house of Rohan but a thatched barn where brigands drink in the reek and their brats roll on the floor with the dogs? The victory at Helms Deep does not belong to you, Théoden Horse Master," he told the Lord of the Mark. "You are a lesser son of greater sires!"

The king was silent, even though the insult stung. It was true that he was not the direct descendent of Eorl the Young. And he knew that the former White Wizard had lived when his ancestor had brought his people to what was now Rohan. But his focus was not on Saruman. "Gríma…come down!" he called out. "Be free of him!"

"Free? He will never be free!" Saruman declared.

But even though he said those words, Gríma's fate was his own. "No," he said to his master.

The former White Wizard turned to him with fury in his eyes. "Get down, cur!" he ordered, slapping Wormtongue hard across the face, getting a shout of pain from him as he fell.

"Saruman!" called out Gandalf, getting his attention again. "You were deep in the enemy's counsel. Tell us what you know!"

"You withdraw your guard and I will tell you where your doom will be decided," he replied, paying no more attention to his servant. "I will not be held prisoner here!"

His lack of attention proved to be his downfall. Gríma, angry at everything that he had done for Saruman and everything that had been done to him by Saruman, finally had enough. Drawing out a knife he had hidden beneath his robes, he leapt and stabbed the traitor Istari in the back many times.

Everyone at the base of the tower was momentarily shocked by this action. They did not think that it would happen. Izuna saw Legolas nock an arrow from the corner of his eye. Seeing where the elf was aiming the arrow, he cried out, "No!" and swung Aeglos upwards, slicing the arrowhead off.

Gríma kept stabbing and stabbing Saruman, his anger making him raise his knife up and driving it down again and again. The Istari traitor tried to turn and fight him off but his strength was draining away from him. He could only grasp Gríma by his robe before stumbling off of the pinnacle of Orthanc. His grip was weak and Wormtongue broke free, but he fell as well.

"AHH!" he screamed as he fell through the air, his hands trying to find something to hold onto. For a moment, it looked like he would grab nothing. Then he managed to grab hold on one of the black spike protruding from the tower. "HELP ME, PLEASE!" he cried out. "I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

Izuna heard his plea and leapt for the side of the tower, racing up it side. As he ran, the body of Saruman finally landed on a spike on a waterwheel close to the tower. The sight of such a thing made the hobbits there wince and look away. Despite what Saruman had done to earn their anger and wrath, no one deserved to die like that.

"Hang on, I got you," Izuna said to Gríma when he reached him. He grabbed hold of the man and leapt down from the side of the tower back into the water below.

"Send word to all our allies and to every corner of Middle Earth that still stands free," Gandalf told Théoden. "The enemy moves against us. We need to know where he will strike." The waterwheel began to turn, taking the body of Saruman down into the water.

"**The filth of Saruman is washing away,"** Treebeard declared. **"Trees will come back to live here. Young trees. Wild trees."**

As he listened to the Ent, Pippin saw something glowing in the water. He hopped down from Aragorn's horse into the water. "Pippin!" shouted Aragorn as he went for the glowing area. His shouting attracted the attention of everyone, even more so when the hobbit reached down into the water and pulled out the palantir Saruman had on him.

"**Bless my bark!"** Treebeard swore when he saw it.

Pippin just stared at the stone with wonder in his eyes. "Peregrin Took," Gandalf said to him, surprising him as he turned around to see the Wizard sitting on Shadowfax beside him. "I'll take that, my lad! Quickly now!" he ordered.

A little reluctantly, he handed the palantir to the White Wizard, who took it and covered it with his robes. They shared a look between one another before Pippin turned away. "We have done all that we can here," Théoden declared. "Let's us go back to Edoras."

"What about him?" Éomer asked, staring intently at Gríma.

The Lord of the Mark turned to look at him too, making him cower and hide behind Izuna. Even though he had killed Saruman, he was still fearful of what might happen. Finally, Théoden looked at the half-elf. "His life is yours to command now," he declared. "Do with him as you see fit."

"As you say, Théoden King," Izuna replied, looking him straight in the eye.

* * *

They were riding back to Edoras and the air around was practically light-hearted. They were riding their horses at a gradual trot so that Izuna and Gríma (who had been told to "stay out of the way for now," by Izuna) could stay close. They were smiling, laughing, and even arguing. "I'm telling you for the last time, elf, he was already dead!" Gimli told Legolas.

"I care not how many times you say, Gimli, that Uruk was still twitching," the elf replied.

"Aye, because he had my axe in his head!" he shouted.

"The score is still tied."

"No, it's bloody not!"

"How long are they going to keep this up?" Théoden asked Aragorn.

"Probably until they find themselves in another battle," the Ranger answered in a serious tone of voice.

Izuna could tell that Aragorn was joking and he laughed quietly. His eyes turned to his sensei and his friend. Curious, he walked closer to listen in. "Are you sure that we will not need Suigetsu and his team?" Jūgo asked.

"His mission is done," Sasuke answered. "If he wanted to go back home, that is his choice. I am surprised that you stayed."

"My place is by your side, Sasuke. That hasn't changed in the years that you were gone."

The raven-haired shinobi fell silent as he rode and Izuna thought that was the end of the conversation. But then his sensei spoke again. "Has it changed much?"

"I can't say. I've tried not to go to places where I might cause damage. Sometimes people will find me and share news with me."

"I see." He looked back and saw his student watching them. "Izuna, what have I said about listening in on other people's conversations?"

"To not get caught," Izuna answered promptly. He didn't receive any praise or acknowledgements and he had expected none.

But his speaking had gotten Jūgo interested. "I had never thought you would take a student," he said to Sasuke after looking the half-elf over. "Why did you?"

"He's Madara's son," Sasuke answered shortly.

Those words made him look back at Izuna again, this time looking at him more carefully. "…I don't see it," he finally said.

"That's because his mother was an elf."

"Oh." He turned his head to look up at the sky. As he looked at it all, the blue sky and the white clouds, he saw a dark speck that seemed to be getting larger.

He wasn't the only one. The other riders began to see it as well. "What is that?" Éomer asked as they brought their horses to a slow stop.

As if to answer him, a screech-like roar filled the air and the speck suddenly landed before them. But while they did not recognize the creature, the Men, Wizard, Elf, and Dwarf knew who it was riding on its back. "Nazgûl!" shouted Aragorn. They all drew weapons but at the same time, backed away from it.

The only person who hadn't moved was Izuna, who was staring wide-eyed in fear of the Ringwraith. He knew that it was the Tainted and it had come for him. It held his gaze and it took a triumphant step towards him. He was caught between wanting to meet it and wanting to run from it. _"I don't know what to do,"_ he thought to himself. Then, as if to answer him, the words of his sensei came back to him.

"_Everyone has known fear; to say otherwise would be a lie. The question is whether you let fear be a sword, or a cloak. A sword of fear will cut into you and make you hesitate. But a cloak will envelop you and sharpen your senses, making you fight harder, stronger, longer, all because you admit that you are afraid."_

Those words put steel in his spine and his stomach but he was still afraid. With slightly trembling hands, he unsealed Aeglos and pointed its tip at the Ringwraith. "I know why you are here. You have haunted me for most of my life. But you shall not have me, not today, not tomorrow, and not any day." he declared, stepping forward to the creature. The riders all looked at him with surprise in their eyes (with the exception of one raven-haired shinobi).

The Nazgûl hissed in amusement. An armored glove reached up and pulled the cloak it wore off, letting it fall to the ground (darkening it in the process). What everyone saw shocked them. Beneath the cloak was a heavily armored human who seemed to tower over them all. In its armored hands was a long black spear. On its head was a helmet so horrible that they could not bear to look at it, all they could see was how black and twisted it was. Even the horses backed away from this nightmare, whinnying in fear.

But Izuna did not back away. He was afraid but he would not let be a sword. When the Tainted raised its black spear and swung it down at him, he swung Aeglos to meet it. The sparks flew as the two blades met in a clash of metal and came apart.

It soon became apparent that there was a gap in skills between the two of them. Izuna, despite his training, had only had Aeglos for a month, maybe less, whereas the Tainted had been most likely been wielding a spear for an Age. The half-elf had to activate his **Sharingan** just to keep up, only to see every detail of the armored Nazgûl in excruciating detail. He wanted to look away, but he forced himself to look at everything.

"_I will not run. I am afraid but I will not run,"_ he told himself again and again as he swung the glaive of his grandfather. Every time the black spear was thrust at him, he forced himself not to flinch or step back. Whenever he lunged, he made himself keep his eyes on the Tainted, looking at it.

"We must help him!" Gimli declared from where he sat on Legolas' horse, reaching for his axe and trying to get off the horse.

"No," Sasuke told him. "Let him fight his demons."

"Lad, he's fighting a Nazgûl!"

"Let him fight, Gimli. He needs this."

Izuna could hear his sensei and the dwarf talk but it sounded so faint to him at that moment, like it was at the end of a tunnel and he was at the other end. But he did not look back. He kept his focus on the Tainted, trying to keep up and protect himself from the black spear.

He fought on, trying to keep himself from getting himself killed. But then he noticed something. As he held the spear of the Tainted in a lock, his eyes traveled down to its right hand. Even though it was armored, there was a ring of silver with a black gem sitting on the ring finger. He knew of the origins of the Ringwraiths and he knew right away what that ring was.

An idea came to him in that moment, something that bloomed instantly and made him change his tactics. Spinning Aeglos upwards, he feinted and swung it low at the glove. The Tainted must've realized what he was trying to do, for it brought the spear it wielded down to block Aeglos.

In that moment, the momentum of the fight changed. Since the start, the Tainted had been the one who was leading the fight, pushing Izuna back. Now it was Izuna who was pushing the Nazgûl back. He was the one who was attacking rather than defending and he attacked ferociously. His idea and his admittance to being afraid spurred him on, forcing the Tainted back and back.

Suddenly, the creature that the Nazgûl had ridden had raised its at him and opened it mouth, revealing many sharp teeth. It roared at him and tried to lunge forward to bite him. But just as quickly as it had stirred, it died just as quickly. Legolas saw the creature move and shot an arrow into its heart.

As the creature fell to the ground, Izuna faced the Tainted. "Were you trying to run?" he asked as he shoved the creature back with Aeglos. He realized that he had unconsciously answered his own question. The Tainted was infamous for making brave men turn away run from it. It fed on fear. But now, it was facing someone who stood before him in defiance, something that had never happened to it before.

"_It's getting weaker,"_ Izuna thought as he pushed the Ringwraith back. He could see it in how the spear moving slower and how the force behind it was becoming weaker. He got more aggressive, his anger at the Tainted coming from his defiance and fueling his momentum. He struck again and again, piercing the black armor the Tainted wore. Finally, he broke the spear in half and with a shout, sliced the right hand of the Tainted.

The effect happened instantly. The Nazgûl stumbled back with a scream that pierced the air, clutching the stump of its hand. Darkness suddenly engulfed it, making the others turn their gaze away. But when they looked again, they saw that the darkness was gone and so was the armored Nazgûl who had made afraid. In its place was a pale man who was even more pathetic then Wormtongue.

Izuna looked down at the miserable excuse for a man and placed the tip of Aeglos beneath his chin. "Look at me," he ordered what used to be the Tainted. The creature could only look at his maimed hand and did not do as he was told. "LOOK AT ME!" Izuna roared again.

This time he did and there was fear in his eyes. "You are going to tell me something, something that you owe me." The half-elf looked down at him. "Where is my mother?"

The fear faded away from the Tainted's eyes and he began to laugh a weak raspy laugh. **"Minas Morgul,"** he whispered, yet it sounded like his voice carried over the entire plain. He laughed again and as he looked at the shocked and horrified expressions on those there who knew what that meant, he laughed more.

His laughter became stronger and more crazed, making it sound like he was mocking them. Izuna lifted up his weapon and with a scream of pain and rage, beheaded the Nazgûl with one swing.

The body fell to the ground and seemed to vanish, along with the severed hand. But all the eyes there were focused on the half-elf who had defeated and killed one of the Nine Ringwraiths of Sauron, even as tears started to flow down his face.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

Yes, Gríma lived but he's not going to be a major part. He's just something for the ending I thought would be decent.

If you thought that the fight against the Tainted was a little weak, that's not the end of it. There's more to come out of it.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	22. A celebration and a threat

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 22: A celebration and a threat

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Edoras)

Théoden stood before his throne in his hall, facing his people with his nephew at his side. There were all here to celebrate what they had archived in the past few days. They had offered to host Haldir and the elves as well as Suigetsu and his remaining team but both declined. But before they could celebrate, there was something that needed to be said. As Éowyn came to him, she knelt and offered the goblet in her hands to him.

He took it and held it out for all the hall to see. In response, all in the hall stood up from their seats with their mugs in their hands. "Tonight we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country," he said before lifting the goblet up. "Hail the victorious dead."

"Hail!" the hall shouted back, rising their mugs in salute and taking a long drink. Some of them, like Aragorn and Sasuke, paused before drinking to think about them some more. For Sasuke, he was a little sad to have seen Suigetsu leave with the remaining Swordsmen. They might not have had what one would call a "friendship," but it was something along those lines.

Once the toast had been said and done, the celebration went underway. And the people of Rohan celebrated. Drinks, food, and laughter were aplenty in the hall as they ate the feast before them. It was not uncommon to see some people get from where they were sitting and go to another table to talk to the people there.

Amidst all of this celebrating, Éomer stood at a table with both Legolas and Gimli, being the judge of the challenge that was about to happen. "No pauses, no spills," he told the two of them as he handed them the mugs.

"And no regurgitation!" added Gimli as he took his mug, making the others around the table who were watching laugh.

Legolas had been initially confused by the challenge when the dwarf gave it to him, but now he was beginning to see it. "So…it's a drinking game?" he asked, wanting to be sure. His question got a few laughs but also shouts of acknowledgment.

"Last one standing wins!" Gimli told him before chuckling at him and lifting his mug to drink. While he was drinking it all in one go, the elf took the more cautious route. He smelled the ale in the mug, taking in its aroma before finally drinking from it.

As this went on, Théoden was amidst his people and the celebration, enjoying it all. He saw his niece offer Aragorn a goblet of wine, which he took and drank from. The two of them shared a look before the Ranger disappeared into the crowds in the hall. Théoden came forward, wanting to speak to his niece. "I am very happy for you," he said to her. "He is an honorable man."

"You are both honorable men," she told him in reply.

He nodded slightly in agreement but he knew the truth. "It was not Théoden of Rohan who led our people to victory." Even though he was dead, Saruman's words kept ringing in his ears.

"_You are a lesser son of greater sires!"_

His eyes traveled down to the floor for a brief moment, but he saw that Éowyn was looking at him with concern in her eyes. "Ach, don't listen to me. You are young and tonight is for you." She smiled again, happy to see him happy.

Meanwhile, the drinking competition between Legolas and Gimli was still going on. Neither had a lead on the other and was still going strong even as the number of mugs in front of them continued to grow. The only difference was that Gimli was the only one who was getting obviously drunker as he drank, talking about swimming with little hairy women between mugs.

When Legolas placed his latest mug down, he looked at the hand that he held it. "I feel something. A slight tingle in my fingers," he said, looking up at Éomer who was standing at the keg with an interested expression on his face. "I think it's affecting me."

Gimli heard those words and started laughing drunkenly as he placed his mug down. "What did I say?" he asked with ale foam on his nose, mouth, and beard while also slurring his words. "He can't hold his liquor." But before he could even finish the sentence, his eyes became crossed and he fell backwards off the bench onto the floor.

Legolas just watched as his friend tipped over, then turned to Éomer and said, "Game over." That had gotten everyone around the table laughing and he chuckled as well.

On the other end of the hall, both Merry and Pippin were dancing on a table with tankards in their hands, surrounded by an audience that was clapping along to the song they sang. It was a song that they had carried with them from the Shire and were willing to share it now. They even managed to get a fiddler to play along with them.

Oh you can search far and wide, you can drink the whole town dry,  
But you'll never find a beer so brown,  
As the one we drink in our hometown,  
You can drink your fancy ales, you can drink them by the flagon  
But the only brew for the brave and true…

In the midst of the song, Pippin had noticed that Gandalf was watching and stopped dancing. Unsure of what was happening next, the fiddler stopped playing. Merry saw that and looked to see what the trouble was. "Pippin!" he shouted at the Took when he saw that he had stopped. Pippin turned to look at him and they started singing and dancing again.

But the only brew for the brave and true,  
Comes from the Green Dragon!

They smacked their tankards against one another and began drinking deeply while the audience applauded their performance. "Thank you! I win!" Merry declared after finishing his tankard first.

Aragorn had caught the tail-end of the performance as he came from behind a corner and stopped next to Gandalf. "No news of Frodo?" he asked.

"No word. Nothing," the White Wizard admitted. It was something that was troubling him deeply.

"We have time. Every day Frodo moves closer to Mordor," the Ranger assured him.

"Do we know that?" he asked, looking at the Man.

For a moment, there was silence between the two of them. Then Aragorn asked him one question. "What does your heart tell you?

Slowly, a small smile appeared on the Istari's face. "That Frodo is alive. Yes…yes, he's alive." His gaze turned upon the party and when he saw something interesting and at the same time amusing, his smile grew wider. "But now, I think one of us should rescue young Izuna from the danger he is in."

Aragorn looked at what the Wizard had seen and fought to keep a smile off of his face at the sight. Izuna, having never really been to a celebration like this before, had placed himself near the wall of the hall. Unfortunately, this gave him no room to leave (or run) when the young and unwedded women of Rohan descended upon him.

The Ranger couldn't help but chuckle as he looked at the half-elf look scared and nervous, like he wanted to run but didn't know if he should. "I'll go save him," he said to Gandalf, making his way over to the half-elf.

Currently, said half-elf only had one thought in his mind, _"Help!"_ He didn't really know how to deal with all of this attention. His only real contact with a woman was with Lady Galadriel and it wasn't like this. He didn't know how to act or reply.

"I had heard that you slayed one of the Nazgûl, my lord," one of the maidens said to him, looking at him with heavy eyes and a smile that was sending nervous feelings up his spine.

"I, I did face the Tainted in combat, my lady," he answered, stumbling slightly over his words.

For some odd reason, that just made her smile even bigger. "You are a very brave man to do such a thing. You are a hero."

Another maiden brushed her hand against a wayward strand of his hair, almost making him jump for the ceiling (which he didn't because he remembered that he was in the middle of a party). "I have not seen a mixture of two colors in a person's hair before. Do you use some sort of concoction?"

"No, that is how my hair normally is." He kept searching for someone to help him but it felt like all the nearby men were ignoring him on purpose. "Could you…could you please let go?"

"Of course," she replied, letting go of his hair with ease.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Aragorn appeared before them. "My ladies, I am sorry to intrude, but I have need of Izuna," he said to the maidens around him. The half-elf stood up from where he was sitting and quickly went to the Ranger.

Once they were out of the way, he turned to look at his friend. "Thanks for that, Aragorn," he said with gratitude. "I didn't know that they would swarm me like that."

"It is not a thing to be feared, Izuna. You had engaged a Nazgûl in combat and lived. There are very few people in Middle-Earth who can make such a claim. Furthermore, you had defeated the Nazgûl and I do not know of any who claim the same. It is those kinds of things that will make you seem attractive to any unmarried maiden."

He could feel the blood disappear from his face at those words. "You mean there are more of them?"

Aragorn had just smiled. "You will be fine," he assured him. "Also, have you seen Sasuke? I haven't seen him since we've come back to Edoras." He had thought that he would be here at the celebration but he was not.

Fortunately, Izuna did know where his sensei was. "He, Gríma, and his friend are staying away from the celebration. He claims that he's never liked this sort of thing, so he'll wait it out." He had trained to convince his sensei to come and join but he had steadfastly refused.

"Ah, then there is nothing we can do," the Ranger decided with reluctance. He had wanted to celebrate with Sasuke but if the man did not want to, he would not force him. "Come, let's enjoy ourselves," he told the half-elf, who nodded in agreement. They went back into the throng of people there just as Pippin and Merry were starting another round of singing.

Izuna soon found himself clapping along with to the song, smiling and laughing at the antics of the hobbits. When they were done, he applauded along with the rest of the people surrounding the table. "Thank you! Thank you very much!" Merry said, bowing his head constantly to them.

As Izuna lowered his hands from clapping, he felt a tug on his clothes. He looked down and saw a little boy looking up at him with wonder in his eyes. "Yes?" he asked.

Before the boy could say anything, someone nearby shouted, "Look who's graced our table, lads. It's the Untainted!"

All the eyes there turned to look at him and he soon realized that he was the Untainted. Suddenly, he felt nervous again. He wasn't used to this much attention (and when he did get it, it was never good). "Hello," he said to them all.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence. "What are you all standing around like idiots?" someone in the crowd (Izuna had thought it was Aragorn). "Someone get the Untainted a tankard!"

The crowd roared in agreement. Before he could decline or refuse, hands had grabbed Izuna and pushed him forward towards the table, sitting him down right next to Merry and Pippin. "Hello there, Izuna," Merry said cheerfully to him. Pippin didn't say anything; his look was oddly vacant, like he was thinking of something. But he came out of it fast enough and greeted Izuna in the same manner.

A tankard of ale was thrust into Izuna's hands and the people around him started encouraging him to drink it. Not wanting to be rude, he did just that. When he was done, he set the tankard down on the table and gave a ferocious burp. "That was…good," he finally declared. He lifted the tankard. "More!" The crowd cheered in approval and poured him another round. Soon enough, he was in the middle of a drinking game against Merry and Pippin (with it going much longer than Gimli and Legolas' match).

(Location: Sasuke)

"**Why are you here?"** Indra asked Sasuke as they sat on their rocks, looking at one another in the garden.

"I'm here to talk to you," Sasuke answered him. "The help that I got at Helm's Deep was not the kind I wanted from you."

"**You wanted help, I gave you help. That is what you wanted."**

"No, what I wanted from you to call your brother and have him come here."

"**You wanted support from someone you knew and I gave you that support,"** his predecessor told him sharply.

"What is your problem? It was a simple request."

"**My problem?"** he repeated, almost sounding amused but also annoyed. **"Whatever my problem is, you have it as well. You are me after all."**

"But I am willing to admit that I need help," Sasuke pointed out to him.

"**Only out of desperation, otherwise you would never have considered such an idea. That's why you haven't left this land since you've arrived ten years ago."**

"I was banished in all but name."

Indra sneered at him. **"Please, we both know that you could've gone back sooner and he would've welcomed you with open arms. You've stayed here because you are afraid."**

Before he could say anything, the garden disappeared and he found himself sitting on the roof of the Hall of Meduseld. He scowled and took the katana off of his lap before standing up. The view he had of Edoras and the surrounding land was breathtaking, even in the night.

But even as he acknowledged the beauty of the land, his thoughts were elsewhere. Was Indra right? Was he afraid to go back to the Elemental Nations? Naruto would probably welcome him back with open arms; he was just that kind of person. But there were also the rest of the nations to consider. They would probably demand his death the second they found out about him.

No, it was better to stay in Middle-Earth. He was willing to admit that he needed help from the Elemental Nations, but he would not leave. Besides, there were more important things to be concerned about right now then whether he would be welcomed back…home. Good Kami, it had been ten years and he still thought of it as home.

"_I need some sleep,"_ he thought to himself. He turned and walked down the side of the roof, leaping quietly down to the ground. He went for the nearby door that he had left opened earlier. Even when he had avoided the celebration, the sounds of it stirred up memories that were best left forgotten. The funny thing was that these were not horrible memories but rather good ones. So he had slipped outside, went to the roof, and mediated in order to communicate with Indra.

As he went for the door, he felt a chill crawl up his spine, making him stop in his tracks. It was possible that it was just a gust of wind but his senses could feel no wind blowing. _"Something is here. Something wrong,"_ he thought to himself. His pace quickened as he walked back inside. When he heard a scream of pain, he broke into a run. That scream had come from his student!

He burst into the hall to see Merry looking at Pippin's still form in shock and Izuna thrashing around on the floor, his hands clasped firmly on the palantir and his closed eyes bleeding. His mouth was opened in a scream but no sound came out. Horror filled Sasuke's stomach at the sight.

"Help! Gandalf, help!" cried Merry, waking the Wizard (who, for some reason, had a jar in his hand) up. Those words also spurned Sasuke into action. He went to his student's side instantly and tried holding him down. It was difficult because Izuna kept thrashing out of his grip, like he knew what was happening.

When he heard another door open, he looked up to see Aragorn and Legolas run into the hall. They saw what he was doing and came to his aide immediately. "Hold him down! Hold him down!" Aragorn told them as they struggled to keep the half-elf still. But it proved to be harder still as Izuna thrashed harder and harder.

"Get that fucking thing out of his hands!" Sasuke roared with a raw and surprising display of emotion on his face as he pointed at the palantir. The Ranger went for it and pulled it out of Izuna's grip, only to stumble and collapse. The shinobi amongst them kicked it out of his grasp.

It rolled across the floor, pass Merry's feet (who quickly stepped away from it), and towards the wall. Sasuke drew his katana, meaning to destroy the palantir, but Gandalf moved more quickly and threw a nearby cloak over it. "Fool of a Took!" he shouted, turning to look at Pippin. He stopped when he saw that the hobbit hadn't moved from where he fell. "No," he whispered, rushing over to him, pushing Merry aside.

The commotion had caused a few people who were sleeping in the hall to rouse themselves from slumber. "What is happening?" one called out groggily.

"Go back to sleep," Legolas told them. Some of them did but a few were now too awake to go back to sleep.

Gandalf placed a hand on Pippin's head and whispered a spell, waking him up. "Look at me," he commanded when he heard the hobbit breath frantically and his eyes wandered.

"Gandalf, forgive me!" Pippin begged before closing his eyes again. All he wanted was to take one more look at the palantir. That was why he took it from the White Wizard's sleeping grasp. He shouldn't have done it.

"Look at me!" Gandalf told him, making him open his eyes. "What did you see?"

He closed his eyes once more but this time to remember "A tree, there was a white tree in a courtyard of stone. It was dead." The image he saw was something he did not wish to see but he saw it all the same, along with what surrounded the tree. "The city was burning."

Sasuke, Legolas, Aragorn, and Gandalf instantly knew what he was talking about. "Minas Tirith?" asked the Wizard. "Is that what you saw?"

He didn't answer right away. Instead he breathed rapidly in and out. It took a few seconds but he spoke again. "I saw…I saw _him_! I could hear his voice in my head."

Those who heard him widened their eyes in shock. They knew what he meant by those words. "And what did you tell him? Speak!" commanded Gandalf.

"He asked me my name. I didn't answer. He hurt me!"

"What did you tell him about Frodo and the Ring?"

A sobbing cry interrupted them and those who were awake turned to see Izuna crawling to the nearby wall and curling up into a ball. Sasuke went to his side and took hold of him. "I've got you, Izuna," he said to his student.

"I was just trying to help," Izuna whispered as tears of water replaced the ones of blood and he held onto his sensei. "I was just trying to help Pippin. I took the palantir from him and…and…he saw me!" His body began to shake and tremble. "He saw what I had done."

"What did you see?"

"He showed me Minas Morgul. He showed me my mother." He opened his eyes and looked at his sensei, naked fear, horror, and terror shining in them. "He showed me what they had done to her and he laughed as I watched."

Sasuke could stare back at the eyes looking at him and swear. _"Kami take you, Sauron. He did not need this. You have gone too far,"_ he thought to himself as he looked at a pair of red stars on black.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

I think that Sasuke would have a small problem about going back to the Elemental Nations. He didn't leave it in the best of circumstances and Naruto's not the only one who lives there.

If you're wondering what's happened to Izuna's eyes, take a wild guess. And before you start complaining about how he couldn't have gotten it, think about what he saw. That would be quite traumatic.

Alright, I've gotten quite a few reviews that said that they wish that I had used Itachi or that the story would've been better if I had used Itachi instead of Sasuke. Would somebody mind explaining that one to me, please?

I'll see you all next chapter!


	23. A different place

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 23: A different place

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Edoras)

"There was no lie in Pippin's eyes. A fool but an honest fool he remains," Gandalf declared to Théoden as the two of them, along with the rest of the Fellowship in Edoras, stood and sat in the Hall of Meduseld the morning after the celebration. The only person of the Fellowship that wasn't there was Izuna and that was because Sasuke had hypnotized him to sleep.

"He told Sauron nothing of Frodo and the Ring," the White Wizard declared, making some of the people in the meeting breathe a sigh of relief. "We've been strangely fortunate. Pippin saw in the Palantir a glimpse of the enemy's plan. Sauron moves to strike the city of Minas Tirith. His defeat at Helm's Deep showed our enemy one thing. He knows the Heir of Elendil has come forth."

"Men are not as weak as he supposed. There is courage still. Strength enough, perhaps, to challenge him. Sauron fears this. He will not risk the peoples of Middle Earth uniting under one banner. He will raze Minas Tirith to the ground before he sees a king return to the throne of Men. If the beacons of Gondor are lit, Rohan must be ready for war."

"Tell me," Théoden said in reply. "Why should we ride to the aid of those who did not come to ours? What do we owe Gondor?"

All the eyes of the group turned to look at him at those words. Some could not believe he had said such a thing and it showed on their faces. But Sasuke, who had been leaning against one of the nearby columns, could believe it and had an answer. "You owe Boromir that much," he said aloud, looking at the king. "He was from Gondor and he gave his life in defense of your people at Helm's Deep."

"While I am thankful that Lord Boromir had been at Helm's Deep, he was but one man," the Lord of the Mark said in reply.

"He was from Gondor and its Captain-General. And he fought for you because he upheld the Oath of Eorl. Now, you would dishonor that Oath because he did not bring the army of Gondor to save Rohan."

Aragorn could see that those words had an effect on the king of Rohan but the man would not be moved from his decision. And the word "oath" echoed in his mind as he remembered Boromir dying against the Deeping Wall. "I will go!" he declared for the group to hear.

"No!" Gandalf said to him, quick to argue that point.

"They must be warned!" he protested. And he had an oath to fulfil.

"They will be," the Wizard assured him. He walked a few steps forward and whispered into the Ranger's ear, "You must come to Minas Tirith by another road. Follow the river. Look to the black ships. Understand this," he said to the rest of them, his voice growing louder again. "Things are now in motion that cannot be undone. I ride for Minas Tirith, and I won't be going alone." He looked at Pippin as he finished saying those words.

"I'm coming too," Sasuke said to him. Those words made everyone who heard them turn to look at him.

"What about Izuna?" Merry asked the shinobi. What had happened to the half-elf was something that would stay with the Brandybuck for the rest of his life, but he knew that now wasn't the time to leave him like this.

"I'll have Jūgo stay with him. But I'm still going." He looked over to Aragorn. "Someone has to bring Boromir's wish to Minas Tirith." The Ranger said nothing. Instead, he just nodded.

* * *

"Of all the Hobbits, Peregrin Took, you are the worst!" Gandalf said as the two of them, along with Merry, went down the hill of Edoras to the stables. "Hurry! Hurry!" he urged the hobbit.

"Where are we going?" Pippin asked Merry. Ever since last night, he had kept mostly to himself, even during the meeting just now. So he wasn't sure about what was happening and when he didn't know that, he knew to ask his friend.

But Merry had something else on his mind. "Why did you look?" he demanded of Pippin. "Why do you always have to look?" It was things like this that had gotten both them and the Fellowship before!

"I don't know, I can't help it," Pippin replied.

"You never can!"

"I'm sorry, alright?" he asked, stopping in where he was walking and making Merry stop as well while Gandalf went into the stable. "I won't do it again."

"Don't you understand?" Merry demanded, walking right back up to him. He was confused by those words, until they were explained to him. "The Enemy thinks you have the Ring! He is going to be looking for you, Pip. They have to get you out of here."

He was surprised to hear such a thing but once he had heard it, it made sense. "And you? You're coming with me?" Merry just turned back around and went into the stables. "Merry?" he called after the Brandybuck.

"Come on!" Merry told him.

He followed his friend into the stables. They walked past all of the horses stabled in there and went straight to Gandalf, who was standing beside Shadowfax. Without any hesitation, the Wizard lifted Pippin up and placed him on the horse's back. "How far is Minas Tirith?" Pippin asked him.

"Three days ride as the Nazgûl flies. And you'd better hope we don't have one of those on our tail," he replied shortly before turning to make sure everything was in order.

As he did, Merry stepped forward. "Here, something for the road," he said, handing his friend a small pouch.

As he took it, Pippin realized what it was. "The last of the Longbottom Leaf?" he asked.

"I know you've run out. You smoke too much, Pippin."

"But, we'll see each other soon?" No one would give up Longbottom Leaf like this, not unless they were saying goodbye to a dear friend. Merry just looked over at Gandalf. The silence prompted Pippin to ask again, "Won't we?"

As Gandalf climbed atop Shadowfax, the Brandybuck hobbit looked at the Took. "I don't know! I don't know what's going to happen," he said in answer, backing up so he was out of the way of the horse.

"Merry?" said Pippin.

"Run, Shadowfax," Gandalf said. "Show us the meaning of haste."

"Merry!" Pippin repeated as the lord of all horse heard the command and galloped out of the stables. He did not pause once he emerged in the sunlight, instead he raced for the gatehouse of Edoras, passing it and heading into the land beyond. But he, along with his riders, had been met by Sasuke at the gate and the shinobi followed the horse by running just as quickly.

Merry ran down the hill and then up the steps of the gatehouse, pushing past a guard as he ran. "Merry!" Aragorn called out after him as he followed.

He reached the top and ran for the wall, watching as his friends grow smaller in the distance. When Aragorn came next to him, he started talking. "He's always followed me everywhere I went since before we were tweens." A smile came to his lips at the memories. "I would get him into the worst sort of trouble but I was always there to get him out. Now he's gone." He looked up at the Ranger. "Just like Frodo and Sam."

"One thing I've learnt about Hobbits: They are a most hardy folk," Aragorn said in a reassuring voice.

But it just made the Brandybuck smile back. "Foolhardy maybe. He's a Took!" They both chuckled quietly at that, but the next thing that Merry said rid them of their good mood. "Why would Sasuke leave Izuna behind like that? Especially after what happened?" he asked.

"I do not know," the Ranger said. "We can only hope that he had a good reason."

"There is no good reason for something like that."

"Then let us hope he had a reason."

(Location: Sasuke)

When they came up a small hedge that granted them the first view of the city, Gandalf had called Minas Tirith, "city of kings." Sasuke could find no disagreement with those words. The capital of Gondor easily made Konoha and any other of the Hidden Villages look like a collection of ramshackle buildings.

It had seven levels, each surrounded by a wall as white as the spur of rock that was in the middle and center of the city. He knew from past visits that the gates to each level were not in the same place as the previous one. They were placed in different directions of the compass and at different ends. This would give the soldiers of the city a chance to regroup their strength, should it ever come to that.

It was at the final level of the city, placed on top of the spur of rock, which held the greatest treasure of Gondor (supposedly). Sasuke had seen it once before when he had snuck up to this level in the middle of the night to look at it. If he was honest, he found it to be more eerie then beautiful, especially in the dark. The stark whiteness of its leafless branches had all but glowed.

"It's the tree! Gandalf, Gandalf," Pippin said to the Wizard as they passed it.

"Yes, the white tree of Gondor. The tree of the King," Gandalf said in reply. "Lord Denethor however, is not the King. He is a steward only, a caretaker of the throne."

"He has still ruled Gondor," Sasuke remarked as they came to the door leading into the king's hall.

"No one has said otherwise." Just before they entered, Gandalf turned to look at Pippin. "Now listen carefully. Lord Denethor is Boromir's father. To give him news of his beloved son's death would be most unwise. And do not mention Frodo or the Ring." The hobbit nodded and they started forward, only for Gandalf to look at him again. "And say nothing of Aragorn either." The Wizard started forward, only to stop for a long moment and then looked at him for a third time. "In fact, it's better if you don't speak at all, Peregrin Took."

They entered the hall. Sasuke took a small moment to look around, hanging back from Gandalf and Pippin. It was a vast hall that reached upwards and was clad in marble of white and black. Along the walls were alcoves that held statues of men, most likely Kings and possibly Stewards who had ruled Gondor. Light shined in from the windows high up on the walls, making the white marble shine brightly.

The center of attention in the hall was the throne at the back. Made of black and white marble like the rest of the hall, the higher throne was made of the white marble and could only be reached by a small flight of stairs. At the base of the stairs was a throne made of black marble. Compared to the throne above, which was subtly opulent, this one was plain and simple. It was in that throne that a man sat with a frown at the approaching people.

"Hail Denethor son of Ecthelion, Lord and Steward of Gondor," Gandalf greeted the man as he and his two companions came to a stop before the throne. "I come with tidings in this dark hour and with counsel."

"So you have," Denethor remarked coldly, looking hard at the Wizard. His eyes shifted to the hobbit and the man standing beside him. "And who are the companions that you had dragged with you before me? I, for one, have seen such a creature like this," he stated as he looked at Pippin.

The hobbit felt a slight nudge of Gandalf's staff against his back and he stepped forward. "I am Peregrin Took, my lord. A hobbit of the Shire," he introduced himself with a bow of his head.

"And are you a noted person in this 'Shire,' Master Took?"

"I am not, but my father is, my lord. He is the Thain of the Shire, its leader."

"I see." His gaze turned to Sasuke. "You are of the race of Men but I have never you before. Who are you?"

"Some have called me Crabandir, others the Bell Man," Sasuke answered shortly, returning the gaze that was on him.

"Ah, now that is a name I have heard." He turned to look at Gandalf. "So, you have brought the son of a ruler and a hero of the people with you. Tell me, what is your counsel?"

"War is coming. The enemy is on your doorstep. As Steward, you are charged with the defense of this city. Where are Gondor's armies?" the Wizard asked, only to receive no answer. "You still have friends. You are not alone in this fight. Send word to Théoden of Rohan. Light the beacons.

A harsh smile appeared on the Steward's face at those words. "You think you are wise, Mithrandir. Yet for all your subtleties you have not wisdom. Do you think the eyes of the White Tower are blind? I have seen more than you know. With your left hand you would use me as a shield against Mordor and with your right you would seek to supplant me. I know who rides with Théoden of Rohan. Oh yes, word has reached my ears of this Aragorn, son of Arathorn. And I tell you now: I will not bow to this Ranger from the North. Last of a ragged house long bereft of Lordship," he declared, his voice turning angrier as he spoke.

"Authority is not given to you to deny the return of the King, _Steward_," Gandalf remind him sharply with a hard edge to his voice.

If those words were meant to chastise, it did not work. "The rule of Gondor is mine and no others!" Denethor shouted, standing up from his seat.

For a long moment, Wizard and Steward stared each other down. Finally, Gandalf was the one who turned away. "Come!" he ordered Pippin and Sasuke, who followed him back down the length of the hall. "All had turned to vain ambition," Gandalf all but growled as they reached the doors.

But as the doors opened, his mood turned to melancholy. "A thousand years this city has stood and now at the whim of a madman it will fall! And the white tree, the tree of the King will never bloom again." His gaze fell on the tree as he spoke and the Tower Guard who stood at their posts.

"Why are they still guarding it?" asked Pippin. If there was no king, then they had no duty protecting a tree.

"They guard it because they have hope. A faint and fading hope that one day it will flower. That a king will come and this city will be as it once was before it fell into decay."

"Decay?" said Sasuke. What he had seen in this city from the times he had been there had shown no signs of decay.

"The old wisdom born out of the west was forsaken. Kings made tombs more splendid than the houses of the living and counted the old names of their descent dearer than the names of their sons. Childless lords sat in aged halls musing on heraldry or in high, cold towers asking questions of the stars." They came to a stop on the spur and looked out at the land before them. "And so the people of Gondor fell into ruin," the White Wizard declared. "The line of Kings failed. The white tree withered. The rule of Gondor was given over to lesser men."

Pippin looked across the land to the range of mountains at the dark and angry redness beyond. "Mordor," he said, realizing what it was. Though the Fellowship had spoken many times of the place, this was his first time seeing it.

"Yes, there it lies. This city has dwelt ever in the sight of its shadow."

"One must wonder if that was by design," Crabandir remarked, mostly to himself. If it was, the architect of this city probably wasn't thinking straight. But then again, Minas Morgul used to be Minas Ithil, which was right up against that dark land.

"A storm is coming," the hobbit noted, seeing the dark storm clouds marching ponderously on from the behind the mountains.

"This is not the weather of the world," Gandalf said, for he too could see it and realized it for what it was. "This is a device of Sauron's making. A broil of fume he sends ahead of his host. The Orcs of Mordor have no love of daylight, so he covers the face of the sun to ease their passage along the road to war. When the shadow of Mordor reaches this city it will begin.

"Well…Minas Tirith…very impressive." He looked up at the Wizard with a question on his face. "So where are we off to next?"

Gandalf could see the question for what it was and answered him in the manner he needed to hear. "Oh, it's too late for that, Peregrin. There's no leaving this city." He faced the mountains barring Mordor from Gondor. "Help must come to us."

"_And I know what help I would want,"_ Sasuke thought to himself. The lands of Middle-Earth, the lands that he had been wandering for the past ten years, would need it. Gandalf had said it right after Helm's Deep.

"_Sauron's wrath will be terrible, his retribution swift. The battle for Helm's Deep is over. The battle for Middle-earth is about to begin."_

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

I know that Denethor isn't aware of Boromir's death (at least, from Gandalf's point of view) but that doesn't mean he'll be welcoming the Wizard. It would simply mean that he would look at anything and everything Gandalf brought with him with suspicion.

And no, I did not make Pippin's father up. He is actually the Thain of the Shire and Pippin will take up that mantle after the whole story is done.

As for Sasuke leaving Izuna behind, I am well aware that was a callous move on his part. But there's more to it than that and it essentially has to do with the fact that he doesn't really have good parenting/teaching skills.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	24. Silence of the night

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 24: Silence of the night

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Minas Tirith)

They had been given rooms for the night. Despite the hostile meeting with its Steward, the city of Minas Tirith remembered Gandalf well enough to give him due courtesy. They were also happy to give the Bell Man room and board, but to this Sasuke said nothing. He kept himself to the back while the Wizard amongst them thanked the guards for the rooms.

That night, Gandalf was standing out on the balcony, smoking his pipe and looking out at the land. When he noticed that the Wizard began coughing slightly from all the smoke, forcing him to lay down his pipe, Pippin poured water from a jug into a goblet and gave it to him. "Thank you," he said, placing a hand on the hobbit's shoulder.

As he drank, Pippin looked out over the balcony, the same as him. What he saw made him nervous. "There's no more stars! Is it time?" He asked Gandalf, looking up at him.

"Yes," the Wizard answered.

"It's so quiet," he remarked, leaning on the railing of the balcony. It was like the only thing they could hear was themselves talking. Even Mount Doom sounded barely loud that night.

"It's the calm before the storm," Sasuke said from where he was leaning against a stone column on the other side of the balcony, looking out at the darkened land as well. "Every battle that all sides knew would happen have had it."

"I don't want to be in a battle. But waiting on the edge of one I can't escape is even worse. Is there any hope, Gandalf? For Frodo and Sam?" he asked the Wizard as he came up to the railing as well.

"There never was much hope. Just a fool's hope," he answered with a kindly smile to the hobbit.

"It's a good thing that there are fools aplenty," Sasuke remarked with a cynical smile.

Gandalf chuckled at those words but turned grim once more as he looked at the black mountains of Mordor. "Our enemy is ready," he declared. "His full strength's gathered. Not only orcs, but men as well. Legions of Haradrim from the South, mercenaries from the coast. All will answer Mordor's call. This will be the end of Gondor as we know it. Here the hammer stroke will fall hardest. If the river is taken, if the garrison at Osgiliath falls, the last defense of this city will be gone." He gazed at the ruin city in the distance, thinking of it when it was unbroken and alive.

"But we have the White Wizard," Pippin said to him with a smile. "That's got to count for something." But the Wizard in question just looked at him with a worried expression, prompting him to say, "Gandalf?"

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked, seeing the same expression.

"Sauron has yet to show his deadliest servant. The one who will lead Mordor's army in war," Gandalf told them both. "The one they say no living man can kill. The Witch King of Angmar. You've both met him before." He looked at Pippin's confused look and gave him the answer. "He stabbed Frodo on Weathertop."

Pippin paled. It had been a long while since that night and he still had nightmares about it. He, Merry, Sam, and Frodo had tried to hold their own against the Ringwraiths, only to fail miserably. The sight of the Morgul blade stabbing nothing but air and hearing Frodo scream in response was enough to make the Took start to tremble.

"And I am guess that I had fought him in the river?" Sasuke asked the Wizard. There had been nine there that day and he had fought all of them.

"Indeed, and I am certain that if he had been at his strongest then, you would not have lived through that encounter. He is the lord of the Nazgûl, the greatest of the nine. Minas Morgul is his lair."

The shinobi did not say anything in response to those words. Instead he simply went back to the rooms, found the bed he had claimed as his own, and fell asleep.

* * *

As he walked down the dirt path that was the road to the docks, he kept his eyes away from the other people there. Thankfully, they were doing the same for him. They knew what the cloak he wore and the bells hanging from his hat meant. The war may have been over but the news hadn't reached them yet and the Akatsuki was still a name to be feared.

Oddly enough, when he reached the docks and looked around, the very edges of his sight was shrouded in grey mist. He still could see the town that was just upwards of the docks, almost pristine looking in the light. But the far edges were veiled in the mist, like a wall that would've prevented him from going any further.

"_I must be in a dream,"_ he thought to himself. _"And if I am in a dream and I am walking down to a dock, there's only one thing that can mean: this is a memory."_ If that was the case, the only thing he could do was just let the memory play out.

He kept his pace going down the road, feeling the dirt crunching softly beneath his feet, the bells ringing softly in the wind. The water stretched out beyond the verity of ships docked there, almost sullen in its dark blue color. It didn't help that there were storm clouds above his head. It just made the sea look even more sullen.

But that did not concern him, not even when he had first noted it when he was there. What concerned him were the ships at the dock. Most of them were the same kind he had seen every time he had passed a sea dock, river dock, or a lake dock. Some ships could easily go up a river but would not last out at sea and while some could easily withstand the sea yet could not traverse a river.

But despite the vast differences of the ships there, they all had one thing in common: they were all of Elemental make, which meant they just sailed through and around the Elemental Nations. He didn't want any of those. Odds are the biggest bounty in the shinobi Bingo Book was already placed on his head and there would be a lot of people who would want to try and cash in on that.

Ensuring that his face was hidden by the hat, he kept looking, walking down the dock. It seemed like the dock had been there for quite some time, for the wood beneath his feet were warped in the way it could get by being struck by sea water and the salt it held many times over. But every ship and boat he passed was of Elemental make. He could've asked the captain where the ship was headed but if he didn't like the answer and moved on, he was certain that talk would follow in his wake and that was the last thing he needed.

An hour had passed since he had begun looking before he found a ship that wasn't of Elemental style and when he had found it, he had stopped in his tracks at the sight. It was beautiful; there was no other way to have described it if he could have. Even though rain had begun to fall only ten minutes past, it did not hide the whiteness of the ship. In fact, the wood almost seemed to glow with an inner light, letting it be seen through the rain. Every curve and every angle it had was graceful, silently showing that it had a quiet beauty to it all.

"_This ship is most definitely not of Elemental make,"_ Sasuke thought to himself as he looked at it. This was something that made the Elemental ships look like they had been made by kids sticking pieces of sticks together.

"Is there something you require, friend?" a voice asked him, breaking him out of his examination of the ship. He looked downward and saw a man hooded and cloaked in the rain, hiding his face and the rain obscuring it even more.

"Are you the captain of this ship?" he asked in return, making sure that his face was hidden by his hat and the rain.

"Yes, I am."

"When do you sail?"

If the man was offended by how he spoke, he did not show it. "Within a matter of hours, actually," he answered. "There are still some things that need to be taken care of."

"Are you traveling to any of the Elemental Nations?"

"No, I am heading back home, across the sea."

"Do you have room to take on a passenger? I can pay." He only had what he took from the Akatsuki hideout, but he could still pay.

He wasn't sure but it seemed like the captain was smiling. "Of course, I am willing to take you on. Please, follow me." He turned around walked back to the ship.

"**Hmm, interesting,"** a voice Sasuke hadn't heard in ten years spoke. Before he could even take a step, he found himself in the rock garden again. But this time, instead of sitting on a stone, he stood in the midst of the pebbles themselves, disrupting its flow enough to make it noticeable. **"I wager that he didn't make you work for passage."**

He turned to look at the speaker, who was standing right next to him. "What are you doing here, Madara?" he demanded. The older Uchiha didn't look any do different from the last time he had seen him. His black hair still fell down his back, he wore his red armor over the blue mantle, and his **Sharingan** was alight.

"**I am you, boy. Do you think that you're the only one who can come here?"** he asked arrogantly, turning and folding his arms like he had done before.

"You haven't answered my question. What are you doing here?"

"**I am here to talk to you."** His eyes narrowed into a furious scowl. **"You and your incompetence, that is."**

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked, folding his arms just like him.

"**You've abandoned your clansman, that's what I mean. The Uchihas stay together, yet you flee before you can take responsibility."**

He knew what those words meant and he knew that the ghost was also talking about his son. But still, he got angry because he heard them. "Don't speak to me about staying together. You're the one who abandoned the clan, left his son alone with his mother, and then orchestrated the massacre the clan. Between the two of us, Madara, you are the worst Uchiha by far."

"**Yet you had the chance to change what we are,"** the ghost replied, taking an angry step forward, further upsetting the pebbles. **"You abandoned your student when his eyes evolved, when he needed you the most."**

"Izuna needs to sort out his own problems. He does not need me to coddle him." He hadn't interfered when his student attacked the Tainted and that worked out fine.

"**YOU LIE!"** the ghost unexpectedly roared, stepping forward and grabbing him by the shirt, disrupting the pebbles even more. **"You are a coward who hides away from even the faintest of family! You are a liar and no true Uchiha!"** He hadn't expected such an outburst and for a moment, was scared for his life.

"**Enough,"** Indra's voice said as he appeared on a nearby rock. **"You have overstayed your welcome,"** he told Madara. **"Begone."** With a flick of his hand, Madara disappeared and Sasuke found himself sitting on a rock as well.

"I didn't need your help," he said to his predecessor, his momentary fear disappearing just as soon as it had come. "I was just fine."

"**I was not helping you,"** he replied as he watched the pebbles resume their flow. **"I was getting rid of a minor irritation."**

For some reason, those words made the younger man chuckle dryly. "I wonder what Madara would say if he had heard those words."

"**It matters not." **

His chuckling stopped instantly. "Does it ever with you?" he asked, his voice somewhat accusing.

His predecessor turned his gaze to him. **"What do you mean by that?"**

"You know perfectly well what I mean. I have asked for you to call for your brother and you've refused. You say that you are better than that, but we both know that isn't true. It just means you are afraid of something." It had been a surprise to him that the obvious reason Indra hadn't called for Asura had eluded him for so long. But after thinking about it as he traveled to Minas Tirith, he remembered the words spoken to him at Edoras.

"_**Whatever my problem is, you have it as well. You are me after all."**_

Once he remembered that, it came to him. It came to him so easily that he felt like an idiot for not recognizing it sooner. **"And what do you think that I am afraid of?"** Indra asked him.

"You're not afraid if reaching out to Asura and asking for his help. You're not even afraid that he might say no." He leaned forward. "You're afraid that he might say _yes_!"

His predecessor stiffened instantly at the accusation, like he had been struck hard by it. In that moment, Sasuke knew that he was right. For the next few moments, silence was paramount in the rock garden. Neither one of them said a word to the other. Sasuke looked at him and he looked away. "Well?" the younger of the two asked. "What do you have to say about that?" He didn't get an answer and feeling bold, he spoke again. "I didn't think my predecessor would be such a coward that he would not ask his brother to help."

"…**Leave,"** the elder commanded, flicking his hand again.

* * *

Sasuke's eyes came awake. He found himself in his bed in Minas Tirith and morning had come to him. He stood up from the bed and went over to the nearby basin, placed against the wall and full of water. Dipping his hands into the water, he splashed some on his face.

The cold water shocked him enough to wipe away the rest of the grogginess that had followed his waking up. After drying his face off with a towel, he turned to the little table in the center of the room, where he had put all of his supplies.

He did a quick check, making sure that all he had left on the table were still there. Once he was sure, he went over and began rearming himself, finishing with the katana at his side. The brown bag he had put the mithril armor in after Helm's Deep was still sitting in the opposing chair, reassuring him that it hadn't disappeared.

He walked out of the room to the common room of the apartments. He took a fruit from the basket on the table and went to the balcony. The morning sun was rising and if it wasn't for the smog coming from Mordor, it would've been a nice morning. Instead, it looked a little grim.

As he munched on the fruit, things went through his mind. He wondered about how he, Pippin, or Gandalf were going to tell Denethor about his son's death, about Indra's reaction and his eventual reply (if there was one), about Izuna and how he was holding up but not for long. But he also wondered where Gandalf and Pippin had gone too, even when he heard shouting coming from beyond the apartments' door.

He walked away from the balcony to the door itself, opening it to see what was happening. But all he saw were people running and shouting, "The beacons are lit!" Somehow, he just knew a certain Wizard and Hobbit were involved.

(Location: Edoras)

Izuna was panting hard as he faced Jūgo in open ground behind the Hall of Meduseld. The orange-haired man stood there like a mountain, taking all strikes thrown at him with patience and endurance, always deflecting and blocking but never striking back. "Why don't you fight back?" the half-elf demanded, swinging his glaive at his head.

Jūgo simply leaned back, letting the weapon slice through the air. "This training is not for me," he answered. "It is for you. Sasuke has entrusted me with your protection and I feel that you must learn how to fight."

"I have fought before!" he protested instantly. He had fought at Amon Hen, helped Merry and Pippin flee from the Uruks, besieged Isengard alongside them and the Ents, and dueled the Tainted. He was no newcomer to a fight.

"You have fought short fights, done in a matter of minutes. If you wished to be a shinobi, you must learn to last longer while also making sure that your strength never fails you."

"But why don't you fight back?" he asked

The orange-haired man went silent as he stepped back from a swing from Aeglos. "I do not wish to fight, Izuna. I don't want to, but I can. And when I do, there's a good chance I will lose control of myself and kill everyone in sight. Only two people have been able to bring me out of that rage, one of them is Sasuke."

The half-elf stopped for a moment at the sound of his sensei's name. He remembered that night clearly, with him crying and Sasuke holding him in his arms. But the next morning when he came to, his sensei had gone to Minas Tirith. The only thing he had left behind was a note telling him to never use the ability he had been given unless told otherwise by him and that Jūgo would be there to keep an eye on him.

He felt like he was being coddled slightly because of all this. It was something he wanted to talk about to his sensei but since he wasn't here, they couldn't. It was actually annoying. Feeling himself getting angry from that annoyance, he channeled it into his fighting and swung at Jūgo with a renewed vigor.

"Keep your focus, don't lose your head, both figuratively and literally," the orange-haired shinobi told him as he continued to dodge and avoid. For a brief moment, he considered the irony of those words and then promptly went back to the fight. "Why haven't you used any jutsu?"

"We hadn't really gotten that far," Izuna told him, swinging Aeglos low and fast.

"I am sure that Sasuke would've taught you at least one."

"He was more focused on me actually being a shinobi."

"Ah, so you were taught how to access and utilize your chakra for the basic measures, while also learning how to run and fight."

"And to breathe, to see, to hear, although not so much on those last two," he admitted.

"I can see."

"What do you mean by that?"

Without warning, he moved, brushing Aeglos aside and knocking the half-elf down to the ground with one good move of his palm. For Izuna, it was like he was suddenly seeing the sky and his back was up against the ground when he was facing his opponent just seconds ago. Aeglos had fallen out of his grip and lay just out of easy reach. "That is what I mean," Jūgo told him, standing over him. "And now, you're dead."

"How in the name of the Valar did you do that?" he asked, amazed at the speed. "It happened so fast!"

"That's because you didn't see or hear me move." He held out a hand for the half-elf to take and helped him get back onto his feet. "If you can't see that, you still need to train."

"I know that," Izuna told him. He wasn't arrogant to believe that he was powerful and strong enough already. There were moments when he thought that his fight against the Tainted only ended in his victory because he had been lucky.

"Good. Let's get some food."

"Alright," he agreed as he reached down to pick up Aeglos. A feeling came to him and he stopped in mid-motion, swinging his arms to the side and catching Jūgo's kick when it was about five inches from his face. "I thought we were done."

"We are. I am making sure that you were paying attention." He withdrew his foot, his calm expression never changing.

Once Izuna had picked up and sealed away his glaive, they made their way out of their little training spot and up the hill to the Golden Hall of Meduseld. There was no rush to their pace, in fact it was rather leisurely. People they passed smiled and greeted Izuna warmly; calling him by the title they had given him.

Surprisingly, it made him uncomfortable. "I wish they wouldn't call me that," he muttered to himself. "It makes me feel like I should be a hero when I'm not."

"Then tell them that," Jūgo said to him as they climbed the hill.

"You don't think I haven't? No matter how many times I do, they just keep on doing it. It just feels wrong to me. Calling me the Untainted makes me sound like I could do no wrong."

"Then don't listen to what they have to say to you."

"But that's rude," he protested.

"So?" Jūgo asked. "Do you think it matters to them?"

"I don't want to be rude to them."

"Then you have a problem, either don't listen and be rude or do listen to them calling you something you are not." He stopped on a step and looked at the half-elf. "Do you want to know a truth of the world, Izuna?"

Izuna had taken another step up when he stopped, so when he turned around to look at him, he was looking down. "What truth?"

"There's no such a thing as a hero. That's just a word people use to describe someone because they feel like they can never reach that level. All the heroes they talk about are good and can do no wrong. But that is just a fabrication. The real person a hero is based on is someone much different."

The half-elf gazed at the orange-haired man for a long moment. "I think there would be several people in the world older then you who would disagree with that notion."

"If that is what they believe in, that is what they believe in. It doesn't change the truth: there are no heroes."

"And what about monsters?" he challenged, feeling that if there were no heroes, Jūgo would think that there were no monsters either.

But before he could answer, the sound of feet running across the ground hard filled their ears. It was coming from behind them and when they both turned to look at who it was that was running, they saw that it was Aragorn. "What's the matter, Aragorn?" Izuna asked him.

He did not answer. Instead, he simply ran past them, heading straight for the top of the hill, where Théoden's hall was. Jūgo and Izuna shared a look with one another before taking off after him, their sense of leisure replaced with a sense of urgency.

They followed him up the hill, trying to stay close to him. They were successful in their efforts, because when he burst open the doors to the hall, they were close enough to hear him cry, "The beacons of Minas Tirith! The beacons are lit!" All in the hall came to a still at those words, even Théoden and his men as they poured over a map of Rohan near his throne. "Gondor calls for aid," the Ranger told the Lord of the Riddermark.

No one said a word in the moments that followed. They were all waiting for their king. He had been told that the alley they had sworn an oath to help in its time of need was calling for their help. But the oath was given as much as it gave and they remembered how no help came from Gondor during the battle of Helm's Deep. If there had been, surely a lot fewer men would've died.

As long as they seemed to stretch out, the seconds were gone as soon as Théoden answered, "And Rohan will answer!" He looked out at his hall, at the people gathered there, his people, his men, and gave a single command. "Muster the Rohirrim!"

Izuna watched as the people of Rohan began to move quickly than they had before, all heading for the doors to the hall. "I guess that food will have to wait," he said to himself. War was in the air once more in Rohan. Only this time, they would come to it instead of it coming to them.

**End**

**Author's Note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

Yes, the dream was a little important and Tolkien readers and scholars will probably be the first ones to figure it out. It will also have something important to do near the end of the story.

I think Indra would be afraid to ask his brother for help because Asura would say yes. Think about it, between the two of them, Indra has always been the one who did everything on his own while Asura had been the one who had support in his efforts (which has gone down through their reincarnation line, for lack of a better term). Calling for his brother would probably be akin to admitting defeat after a long argument.

Jūgo's "truth" mostly comes from his own experience with the world and himself. And yes, he does think that there are monsters aplenty in the world. For him, if he wants to find a monster, all he has to do is look in a mirror.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	25. Unwanted news

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 25: Unwanted news

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Edoras)

There was a small tower near the center of Edoras and atop the tower was a single iron bell, meant to call the Rohirrim together when it was time for war. And that time was now. Before, there was barely any activity on the slopes of the capital. But now there was nothing but activity as the bell was being struck again and again.

People were running every which way, gathering supplies, readying the weapons they would carry, and saddling the horses they would ride. There was a frantic but familiar pace to it all for the riders of Rohan, who had been called to action by the tolling of the iron bell.

As his people prepared, Théoden came out of his hall, dressed in his armor with his sword at his side and his helmet held in his arm. He was ready for war. "Assemble the army at Dunharrow, as many men as can be found. You have two days," he told Éomer, who walked by his side. When his nephew began to walk forward, he stopped him with a hand to his shoulder. "On the third, we ride for Gondor…and war."

The Third Marshal of the Mark nodded once in acknowledgment and turned to the steps. "Forward!" he called out to his soldiers.

"Gamling," the king called to the man, who stood to the side and watched as the preparations went on, walking over to him.

"My lord!" he said, turning to face him.

"Make haste across the Riddermark. Summon every able-bodied man to Dunharrow," Théoden commanded.

"I will," he said with a bowed head before turning to leave. The Lord of the Riddermark was left there, standing in silence as he watched the men readying themselves, heading down the hill to the gates.

Aragorn himself was readying himself for the march, saddling Brego just outside the stables. To his surprise, Éowyn came out with a horse of her own, stopping to saddle it beside him. "Do you ride with us?" he asked her.

"Just to the encampment," she answered. "It's tradition for the women of the court to farewell the men." He had a little trouble believing that and when he noticed something on her saddle; he reached out and pulled the blanket on the saddle back, revealing a sword hilt.

She noticed what he did and pulled the blanket back before anyone else could've seen it. While he pretended to not have seen it, she spoke to him. "The men have found their captain. They will follow you into battle, even to death. You have given us hope." He didn't say anything, choosing to go back to Brego.

Out near the main street, Izuna was checking over what he had in the way of supplies. Jūgo was standing nearby, keeping an eye out on what was passing by. "They move fast," he remarked as the men of Rohan passed them by.

"They're marching to war," Izuna said.

"Even so, they move fast."

The neighing of a horse filled their ears at that moment and while it shouldn't have been a surprise to them (they were in the land of the Horse-Lords), it came as a surprise due to the fact that it was coming from behind them, not out front on the street where the majority of the horses were. When they turned to look, they did see a horse there, its reins being held by Gríma. "My lord," he said with a bowed head.

"Gríma, what's with the horse?" Izuna asked him, a little confused by it.

"The Rohirrim are going to war, my lord, and you are going with them. Since they have given you a sense of standing, you must ride a horse as they would expect you to. So I have taken the liberty of finding you a steed." The horse neighed a little, like it knew it was being talked about.

The half-elf had not expected Gríma to do such a thing and was a little surprised by it all. "Uh…thanks," he said to the man, walking over to the horse and taking the reins. "Does he have a name?"

"Apologies, my lord, I did not think to ask," he said with a bowed head. "I only asked if there was a horse for the Untainted and I was given one quickly."

"Well, thank you anyway. You and Jūgo best go back and find horses of your own."

"That won't be necessary," Jūgo told him. "I'll walk."

"And I will not be allowed to ride one," Gríma said to him. The people of Rohan still considered him to be a traitor who only lived because the half-elf's good graces. If they let him saddle a horse, they would feel like they were being considerate. "Do you require anything else, my lord?" he asked Izuna.

"No. Thank you, Gríma."

* * *

As Théoden looked on, Merry approached him from behind with his sword in his hands. "Excuse me!" he said to the king, making him turn to look. "I have a sword. Please accept it!" He knelt down to the ground with the tip of the sword resting on the stone. "I offer you my service, Théoden King."

The king of Rohan took a step towards him and helped back onto his feet. "And gladly, I accept it," he told the hobbit with a smile. "You shall be Meriadoc, esquire of Rohan." The Brandybuck smiled widely and went off to find a horse and armor.

As the horses and their riders, along with the soldiers on foot, began to make their way out of the city, Legolas and Gimli once again shared a horse. "Horse men!" said the dwarf with a snort. "I wish I could muster an army of Dwarves, fully armed and filthy."

"Your kinsmen may have no need to ride to war," the elf told him. "I fear war already marches on their own lands." The Dark Lord would not just attack one place, he was sure of it.

"Ack, they can handle themselves well enough," Gimli said with a conviction in his voice that Legolas believed him.

When the Rohirrim were finally ready to leave Edoras, Théoden sat on his horse in their midst. In that moment, he could see everything that was there for him to see. His men, his people, his city, his kingdom, and his banner were all there for his eyes to look upon. He particularly watched the banner as it fluttered in the wind._ "So, it is before the walls of Minas Tirith the doom of our time will be decided,"_ he thought to himself in that moment.

"Now is the hour, Riders of Rohan," Éomer cried to the riders in a great voice. "Oaths you have taken. Now fulfil them all, to Lord and Land!" The Riders of Rohan responded to his call with a shout that seemed to come from them all in a single, unified voice. With his words spurring them on, they rode out of Edoras, onto the plains of Rohan and to Gondor, to fulfil an oath made long ago between the two kingdoms.

(Location: Minas Tirith)

The three of them walked along the first level walls with Sasuke looking at Pippin as they walked. "So you just decided to climb up the wall and light the beacon because he told you too," he said, gesturing slightly to Gandalf.

"Yes," the hobbit answered.

"Why?"

"Because it would've sent a message to Rohan, letting them know that Minas Tirith needed its help."

He just stared at the Took, taking in all of his earnest and honest expression. Finally, he turned his gaze away and looked out at Mordor, for no better purpose then to not look at him. _"He really is Naruto in Hobbit form,"_ he thought moodily to himself. _"I don't know if these two should ever meet or not."_

Gandalf saw the look on his face and chuckled. "Thinking of someone who has irritated you one too many time but still a friend, aren't you?" he asked.

He looked at the Wizard. "What makes you think I'm thinking of that?" he challenged.

"Because I've had that look on my face when dealing with young Peregrin Took here," he answered whilst nudging Pippin to prove his point.

He didn't bother to respond to that question. "Aren't we risking a lot of anger being out here on the walls after lighting the beacons without permission from Denethor?"

"And how would we be doing that?" Gandalf asked him with a curious look. "We are simply taking a walk on the walls. Why, we are not alone up here."

Sasuke took a look around them, seeing other citizens of the city on the wall as well. The difference between them and the three of them was that they were not up on the walls to subtly check the defenses of the walls. And he wasn't sure about what he had seen. The walls were impressive but the soldiers manning them seemed to be stretched thin. There was a sense of unease in their eyes whenever they looked upon them. They knew what was coming, but they did not know if they would be able to withstand it.

"Gandalf, what's with the commotion over there?" Pippin asked, looking at the group of people gathering near the gate.

"I don't know," Gandalf answered. They all quickly went to the crowd and pushed their way quickly through to see what was happening. The answer was something that the White Wizard had hoped wouldn't come to pass.

Out of Osgiliath came the remains of its defense. It was obvious by the fact they were fleeing the ruined city that it was overrun. But while that was a reason that people were watching in crowds from the walls of Minas Tirith, it wasn't the main one. The main reason they were all watching was the fact that there were three Nazgûls on their flying beasts creating havoc amidst the fleeing men.

"Come! We must go to their aide!" Gandalf said, having seen all what he needed to see in those first few seconds.

He turned to head back to the ground, where Shadowfax would be waiting. But he stopped when Pippin cried out, "Gandalf, look at Sasuke!"

The White Wizard turned back to see that the elven cloak Sasuke had been given in Lothlórien was now on the wall. Its wearer had taken it off, leapt over the side, and was running at full speed towards the men in trouble. But he didn't stop there. He channeled his chakra into his eyes, morphing them into the **Mangekyō Sharingan** and promptly activated the **Susanoo**, this time doing what he couldn't in Moria and used its full height.

The people of Minas Tirith watched in shock as a giant made of purple fire appeared in place of the man. It continued to run towards the fleeing men and they were afraid that he would assist the Nazgûl in attacking them. An orb of black flame filled its right hand and it seemed to fulfill their fears. But then the orb manifested an arrow and a bow-like shape appeared on the left hand.

The giant creation stopped running once the arrow was created, nocking it into the bow. It pulled the thin fire that acted as its taunt string back and fired. The black arrow sailed through the air, but it did not strike the fleeing men of Gondor. Instead, it flew right at one of the three beasts carrying the Ringwraiths.

The creature roared in surprised at such a move and banked hard to avoid the black arrow. Sasuke didn't stop there; he nocked and fired several more, keeping the Nazgûl away from the men. "Run!" he commanded them, amplifying his voice through the **Susanoo**. "Make for the city! I will hold them off!"

They needed no further prompting. Those on horseback spurred their animals on faster and those on foot ran all the more harder. They curved around the giant made of flame as they came closer to him and then proceeded to head for the city. The Nazgûls' beasts roared in anger alongside their masters and tried to go after them. But they were repelled by Sasuke again and again.

He gave ground slowly as he held them back and they soon gave up in killing the remaining defenders of Osgiliath. They turned back and flew back to the safety of the darkened clouds, which now hung over the ruins Minas Tirith had just lost. His mission successful, he turned and went back, disengaging the jutsu as he went. The footprints he had made while in the jutsu had left a path of smoldering footprints, evidence of what had just happened.

The gates of Minas Tirith were quickly pulled opened, allowing the defenders of Osgiliath to come riding in. The people who had been watching from the walls and from the nearby buildings all came down to meet them, to see that they were alright with their own eyes. Among them were Gandalf and Pippin.

"Mithrandir!" cried one of the defenders, coming towards the Wizard on his horse. "They broke through our defenses. They've taken the bridge and the West bank. Battalions of Orcs are crossing the river." There was something familiar about the Man, but Pippin could not place his finger on what it was.

"It is as the Lord Denethor predicted!" one of the other defenders said aloud as they dismounted and checked their horses. "Long has he foreseen this doom!"

"Foreseen and done nothing!" Gandalf snapped at the man. He would've continued had he not seen the first Man stare at Pippin. "Faramir?" he said while Pippin looked away. Then the Wizard understood. "This is not the first Halfling to have crossed your path."

"No," answered the man known as Faramir, shaking his head.

The hobbit amongst them looked at him with hope in his eyes at those words. "You've seen Frodo and Sam?" he asked. Faramir nodded.

"Where? When?" demanded Gandalf.

"In Ithilien," he answered immediately. "Not two days ago." Gandalf and Pippin looked at one another with happiness. The friends that they had not seen for some time were still alive. "Gandalf, they're taking the road to the Morgul vale."

A look of horror passed onto the Wizard's face. "And then the pass of Cirith Ungol," he finished, which Faramir nodded to.

"What does that mean? What's wrong?" Pippin asked Gandalf, feeling worried.

"Faramir tell me everything. Tell me all you know," the Wizard told the Man.

"Wait," Sasuke said quietly as he appeared in their midst from out of the crowd horses and men. He stepped forward and looked up at Faramir, studying him with a quiet intensity. "You are Boromir's brother," he finally said.

Pippin looked at the shinobi in surprise and then whipped his head to look at Faramir. That sense of familiarity he couldn't place was suddenly made clear. It was like looking at a younger Boromir. "Yes, I am his brother," Faramir answered. "How do you know who I am?"

"Because I have come to Minas Tirith bearing sad news and a last command," he answered, looking him in the eye.

A sense of unease filled Faramir, but he spoke once more. "What do you have to say?"

* * *

"This is how you would serve your city?" Denethor demanded of Faramir as he sat in his throne and his son stood before him after hearing his report concerning Frodo and his burden. "You would risk its utter ruin?"

"I did what I judged to be right," Faramir answered.

What you judged to be right. You sent the Ring of power into Mordor in the hands of a witless Halfling!" he shouted, his voice echoing throughout the hall. Yet his son and the foreign man who stood nearby said nothing. "It should have been brought back to the citadel to be kept safe. Hidden, dark and deep in the vaults… not to be used," he told him. "Unless, at the uttermost end of need."

"I would not use the Ring," his son told him. "Not if Minas Tirith were falling in ruin and I alone could save her."

"Ever you desire to appear lordly and gracious as a King of old," he replied with a sneer. "Boromir would have remembered his father's need. He would have brought me a kingly gift."

What he had heard on the outskirts of Osgiliath still haunted Faramir, for Sam's words of his brother clashed with his memory and yet, somehow they rung true. "Boromir would not have brought the Ring. He would have stretched out his hand to this thing and taking it he would have fallen."

"You know nothing of this matter!" his father all but shouted.

But he pressed on. "He would have kept it for his own. And when he returned you would not have known your son."

The Steward of Gondor leapt up from his seat, angered by the words he was hearing and by the sight of the Horn of Gondor resting by Faramir's side. "Boromir was loyal to me!" he shouted, coming at his other son. "Not some wizard's pupil!" He raised the rod in his hand, the symbol of his office as Steward, meaning to strike his own son.

But before he could, Sasuke intervened. He stepped in front of Faramir and grabbed the Steward's rod-bearing hand. It was only for a second that he held Denethor in place and when he released his grip, the Steward stumbled back like he had been struck. "Father!" said Faramir, stepping forward to help him.

"Wait," Sasuke told him, holding out an arm to bar his path. "Give him a moment."

"What did you do?"

"Isn't it obvious? I stopped him."

Denethor fell back into his chair, gasping for breath that had suddenly left him. His eyes searched wildly for something in the room and Faramir did not know what it was. But then they settled on him and traveled down to the Horn at his side. He had been told of his eldest son's death at Helm's Deep and had begun to mourn before Faramir had reported on what had happened with Frodo. "Prove your worth," he said his eyes hard.

"Father?" asked Faramir, unsure of what he meant.

"You wish to bear the Horn? You will prove your worth to me. Defend this city." He stood up from his chair and in a move that his son did not expect, handed him the rod. "I give you full authority."

His son was surprised by his action and found that the only thing he could do was take the offered rod. Once he had it, his father turned and walked from the hall, the doors echoing as they closed shut. He just stood there, silent as the hall around him. "You heard your father," Sasuke said quietly by his side. "What do you plan to do?"

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "I will call the council to come together," he answered. "Minas Tirith must be made ready."

* * *

Gandalf stood to the side of the room as he watched the council of Minas Tirith discuss what they had. "What manpower do we have in the city?" Faramir asked the council, looking at all those who sat at the table.

"For the soldiers, we have enough to man the first two levels if we stretch them," one of the councilmen, a heavyset man with a grey beard, told him. "But even with the men you brought back with you from Osgiliath, Lord Faramir, it would still be stretched thin, too thin."

"Then we must recruit from the people in the city."

That caused a stir in the council. "My lord Faramir, you do not mean to recruit _children_ into the military!" a councilman who looked to be barely older than him said in horror. "We are not the Rohirrim, who would press babes into service if they had to!"

The air in the room became colder as all eyes fell to him. "I would speak more carefully of our neighbors if I was you, my lord," Faramir told him. "They are still our allies. And no, I will not conscript children, but every boy of age shall serve. Also, evacuate the women and children in the city to the fifth level and higher."

"It will be done," he replied, looking away from him and feeling quite chastened.

"My lord, how will it take the orcs to reach Minas Tirith?" A tall man at the far end of the table asked Faramir.

"I do not know. The force that made us flee was quite large but I have a feeling that they were a striking force, not the main force itself. It could take them a few days to reach Minas Tirith," he answered. "If that much is true, then perhaps we will be able to recall soldiers from our southern lands to help us defend the city."

The other councilmen shared looks with one another after those words were said. "Lord Faramir, the southern lands have been forced to fend off the Corsairs of Umbar. We are all alone here," the heavyset man told him.

He looked at the man and then at the rest of the council, seeing in their eyes that they did not think they had any chance. "Then alone we stand and alone we will hold, until some aid comes to us."

Gandalf turned and walked away, leaving the building behind. He had not said anything during the meeting, he had only watched, as he had done several times before in his long life in Middle-Earth. Faramir had adapted well to the power his father had thrust into his hands without word, which only proved how much he was a son of Denethor.

But the question remained this for the Wizard: why would Denethor give up his power and command so suddenly like that? He never would've done that, not in the time Gandalf had known him. It was a puzzling question, but he had a feeling that he knew the answer to it already.

"The meeting still going?" asked Sasuke as he came to the Wizard's side. His sudden appearance might've spooked any other else but the Wizard was calm.

"It is. Faramir is being the leader he was made," he answered the shinobi, eyeing him as they walked. "Strange how Denethor just gave up his power to the son he did not favor."

"He's the only son the man's got left. What else was he supposed to do?"

"Rule in the place of the King, as his father and his forbearers had done before him."

"Well, guess he didn't then," the raven-haired shinobi said with a small shrug of his shoulders. Everything about him in that moment told the White Wizard that he could not care about what could've or would've happened to Denethor.

But that only made Gandalf even more suspicious than before. "Let us play no games with each other in this moment, Sasuke," he said to the man walking beside him, coming to a stop in their tracks, which had them on a wall of the city.

He stopped and looked at the Wizard. "Isn't that what you do? Play games?" he asked pointedly. "You, who had Pippin climbed up the side of the city and light the beacon despite what Denethor had decided on the matter?"

"Sasuke, did you convince the Steward of Gondor to step aside and give power to his son?"

He shook his head shortly. "No, I did not. He would not have listened to me if I had. After all, he believes that I obey you and your orders." Which was ridiculous, he was his own man.

"But you did to do something to him. What did you do?"

"I did what had to be done to make sure that this city had a chance, nothing more and nothing less."

Gandalf frowned. "That is not the answer I want from you."

"And yet, it is the truth you need."

"Sasuke, speak plainly, please."

He just gave the Wizard a look. "No, I won't. I did what had to be done. You can thank me for it later." He walked off, leaving Gandalf alone on the wall.

The White Wizard was troubled by what he had heard. He kept walking along the wall, to think silently. He had received no clear answer but after that short talk with Sasuke, he felt like he did not need one. The shinobi had done something to make Denethor act as he had.

And yet, what he had said was true. With Faramir in charge of Minas Tirith, there was a better chance of the city surviving. Denethor had ruled Gondor well enough in his time but since the death of his lady wife, he had become more withdrawn and reclusive. While the kingdom of Gondor had withheld against Sauron, it had been clear, now more than ever, that they were on the losing end of a long war. With the way their Steward had become, there was no doubt that morale would falter and possibly break. But with Faramir taking charge, that morale would possibly be bolstered.

But the fact remained the same in his mind. Should Sasuke had intervened or should he not? Gandalf had had this question plague him before, only about a different Uchiha. He had wondered if Madara should've gotten himself involved in the difficulties between Elves and Dwarves or not when Thorin's Company had captured by the Elves of Mirkwood. It had been the right thing to do in the end and despite a few difficulties, but he had still wondered. And now, he wondered again.

"_It seems like Uchihas will always make me want to question their actions,"_ he thought to himself. _"And they will always make me worry about them."_

As he walked, he came to a stop to look upon Mordor. The soldiers and people who were there on the wall with him saw him standing there and came to his side. He was a Wizard and to them, Wizards always had the answers. "Where are Théoden's riders?" a soldier asked him.

"Will Rohan's army come?" another asked. When he did not answer, the soldier prompted him with a, "Mithrandir?"

He looked grimly at the dark mountains that stood between Gondor and Mordor. Then his eyes fell to the fallen city of Osgiliath. "Courage is the best defense that you have now," he said to all of them.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

Sorry for taking so long with this chapter and recent ones. I've been dividing my time between this and a Naruto/ASOIAF crossover one-shot I had been working on since the end of December. It had taken me four months and about 57 pages to realize that the one-shot wasn't really going where I wanted it to go.

The idea was based off another idea for a crossover story, but with a female Naruto instead of a male one and with a few changes to the original idea. And since I didn't want to do a whole story about it, I tried cramming all of it into one chapter and with multiple viewpoints throughout the story. Hopefully at this point, you can understand why I decided to drop it.

Since Faramir is in charge of Minas Tirith now, there's no suicidal attack on Osgiliath. So sorry for all those of you who wanted to see that rather idiotic charge (I mean really, who charges right at the city where every single archer can see you and has a perfect shot?).

And before you start bugging me about what exactly Sasuke had done to Denethor, he hypnotized him. Last time I checked, the **Sharingan** could do that.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	26. Words of purpose

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 26: Words of purpose

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Dunharrow)

"Make way for the King!" a soldier cried in the encampment at Dunharrow as Théoden and his riders, including those of the Fellowship who had stayed in Edoras, rode into the camp. "Make way, the King is here."

Théoden waved to the soldiers and riders that he passed, showing that he was there and he was glad that they had come at his command. To his eye, the encampment was large and still growing. "Grimbold, how many?" he called out to the man as he passed him.

"I bring 500 men from the Westfold, my lord," Grimbold answered from where he stood amidst the tents.

"We have 300 more from Fenmarch, Theoden King," another of his soldiers told him.

As he rode, he looked around, seeing the banners of the lords who had come. "Where are the riders from Snowbourn?" he asked.

"None have come, my lord," was the answer.

Théoden shared a look with his riders. That was troubling news. They had been expecting a good number of riders from Snowbourn. For them to not be there was disheartening to hear. Not only that, but it carried with it the possibility that others had not come. Still, there was nothing they could do until they had all the numbers.

They rode through the camp towards the cliff beneath the mountain. A path had been cut into the cliff long ago and it had seen many years of use. It was no stranger to feet and hooves traveling upon it. At the top of the path was a small plateau where the main command had been set up long before Théoden and his riders had entered the camp. Once they were up there, they dismounted and began to pack their things away in the tents given to them.

As the unpacking went on, Aragorn joined Théoden at the edge of the cliff. They looked down at the encampment below. There were a great many tents down there and it was a sight to see. But from up on the cliff, the valley below looked more than half empty. "Six thousand spears, less than half of what I had hoped for," Théoden remarked to Aragorn.

"Six thousand will not be enough to break the lines of Mordor," the Ranger replied.

Both knew that was true, but Théoden remained hopeful. "More will come."

He turned to walk away, only to stop when Aragorn spoke. "Every hour lost hastens Gondor's defeat. We have until dawn then we must ride."

The King of Rohan nodded once in agreement. The sudden neighing of a horse in panic made them both turn to look at what was going on. The horses who had come up to the plateau were becoming nervous and frightened, trying to break free from where they had been tethered. Their riders came to their side, trying to calm them down with some success.

Both Legolas and Gimli noticed this as they walked among the tents. They came upon Éomer as he took his saddle off of his horse. "The horses are restless and the men are quiet," Legolas noted, looking around at the men of Rohan.

"They grow nervous in the shadow of the mountain," Éomer answered the elf. He looked over at the small passage that led deeper into the mountain, an area that looked dead and barren to the world. .

Both Elf and Dwarf looked at what the Man was looking at and felt unease travel up their spines. "That road there," Gimli said. "Where does that lead?"

Éomer did not answer but Legolas did. "It is the road to the Dimholt, the door under the mountain."

"None who venture there ever return," Éomer told them. "That mountain is evil." As if he felt uneasy just speaking about it, he turned and walked away.

Aragorn came near the entrance, attracted to it for some reason he found to be chilling. It crawled across his skin as he kept on looking. Something seemed to tell him that he would go there, that something would be waiting for him. But there was another part of him that was telling him to not go, to turn and walk away, that what at the end of that road was something he should not go near.

As a rider calmed down his frightened horse and led it away, an image appeared at the entrance, glowing with a sickly green light. It showed a man that had long been dead. Aragorn could barely make out features, but there wasn't enough there to give him a good picture. Yet somehow, the image seemed to be beckoning to come forward, either that or telling him to stay away.

"Aragorn!" said Gimli, touching his arm and making him jump slightly. The Ranger turned to look at the dwarf. "Let's find some food," the dwarf suggested with a weary look at the entrance before walking away. When Aragorn looked back, the image was gone.

* * *

As the night fell around the camp, Éowyn and Merry were alone in a tent. The reason for that was because she was helping him try out the armor he had been given by Théoden before leaving Edoras. "There. A true esquire of Rohan," she declared after placing his helmet on his head.

Merry reached up and felt the helmet on his head, confirming for himself that it was on. "I'm ready!" he said excitedly, whipping out his sword. The move surprised Éowyn and made her jump back. But it also made her laugh a little. "Sorry. It isn't all that dangerous," he apologized. "It's not even sharp."

"Well that's no good," she remarked. "You won't kill many Orcs with a blunt blade." She turned him around and pushed him gently out of the tent. "Come on." They came out with a good air about them. He was practicing swinging the sword through the air and she couldn't help but smile at the sight. It reminded her of better days when she was a child along with her brother and her cousin, playing at war. "To the smithy, go!" she told him.

He ran off, leaving her behind. Her brother sat at a fire nearby beside Gamling. "You should not encourage him," he told her.

"You should not doubt him," she replied, looking at his back.

"I do not doubt his heart, only the reach of his arm." Gamling laughed at those words, but it was a short and quiet laugh.

"Why should Merry be left behind?" Éowyn asked. "He has as much cause to go to war as you." She watched as the hobbit disappeared behind a tent. "Why can he not fight for those he loves?"

Éomer turned his head to look at her, knowing full well what she was talking about in that moment. When she turned away, he stood up from his seat. "You know as little of war as that Hobbit," he said to his sister. "When the fear takes him, and the blood and the screams and the horror of battle take hold. Do you think he would stand and fight? He would flee. And he would be right to do so." He placed what he thought was a comforting hand on her shoulder. War is the province of men, Éowyn." He turned and walked back to the fire, never noticing how his sister looked at him in that moment.

(Location: Sasuke)

Night had fallen over Minas Tirith. Sasuke walked down a street that was empty, letting his footsteps echo against the stone walls of the houses and buildings. He was not surprised that the street was so empty, for the day had been a flurry of activity across all the levels. The shinobi had been surprised at how patriotic the citizens of Minas Tirith actually were to their city.

Every man and boy who had been conscripted into service did so without objection or protest, going willing with the recruiters. Those who were too young or too old to serve helped out in anywhere they could, the youngest often taking messages from one commander to another, the eldest donating their old weapons and armor when there wasn't enough. Even the girls and women helped by mending clothes and passing out food to the soldiers. Truly, it was a sight to see.

But for Sasuke, seeing such things only reminded him of how bad a situation they were in. They may be patriotic but to the shinobi, everything that they did had a motive of fear. They were afraid. He knew it well enough, having experienced it before, that night when he came home to find his entire clan slaughtered and his brother standing over their parents' corpses.

Once, a long time ago, he would've banished that thought away in an instant, refusing to think about it or his brother. Now, he did not care. That night was long in the past and was different then what he had originally thought. There was really no point in thinking about it anymore.

Wanting to think of something different, his eyes roamed the street and found a wooden plank hanging from a building. The fact that there was a tankard painted on the plank, lights dancing through the window, and voices faintly coming from inside all told him that it was a tavern. Suddenly, he felt a need for a drink.

When he opened the door, all voices went silent and all eyes fell to him. The people inside recognized him as one of those who rode with Mithrandir and who had fought off the Nazgûl. They watched in silence as he walked amongst them to an empty table in the far back. He signaled one of the serving girls and she came closer with nervous feet. "I'll take a tankard," he said quietly, placing money down on the table.

"Of course, my lord," she answered. Her voice showed her nervousness but her face was blushing. She quickly walked away, leaving him alone. If he had been an idiot (or worse, Naruto) he would've thought nothing of her blush. But he was not an idiot and knew full well what it meant. But as before, he simply did not care.

She came back with his tankard and he took it without a word. She left and he drank the ale. It was bitter going down his throat but he still drank it. He put it down when he was done and let what he had drunk travel down into his throat. The bitterness of it made him wish that he had some sake with him. He had some before he left the Elemental Nations and even though he had drank ale and mead while in Middle-Earth, he much rather had sake.

Someone sat down on the other side of the table, getting his attention. "What do you want?" he asked the old man.

"How is this possible?" the old man said, mostly to himself. "It's been sixty years and yet, you don't look like you have aged at all."

Frowning slightly, he pushed away the tankard. This was probably going to require his complete attention. "What are you talking about?" he asked. "I've never met you before, old man."

The old man looked at him sharply, trying to see something with his own eyes. "How could you? We never met in person. But I remember you. It's been over sixty years and I still remember that night when you fought that dragon. I thought I had been dreaming until I saw you fend off the Ringwraiths. The Valar of purple flame that was summoned, it almost the same as the one I saw when Smaug the dragon had been slain."

"_Oh, now I understand,"_ Sasuke thought to himself. "You were at Lake-town then, when Thorin's Company retook Erebor."

"Yes, I was there. And so were you, Dragon-dueler."

The people in the tavern began to whisper amongst themselves at those words. They had all heard of the Battle of Five Armies, the retaking of Erebor, and the duel around Lake-town. They had thought the last to just be a story but now, it sounded like it was real. Here was a man who claimed to be there and he sat before a man he was claiming was the same person who fought Smaug.

But Sasuke didn't care about that kind of thing. "I'm not the man you're looking for," he said shortly.

"Don't deny it, I know your appearance and it hasn't changed a bit these past six decades!" he raised his voice to an almost shouting level.

"Grandfather, please come back to the table," a soldier who looked barely old enough to be not called a teenager said to the old man, coming over to the table and placing a firm, yet gentle hand on his shoulder. "Let us leave this man alone with his drink."

His grandfather did not refuse or protest such action, which showed he must've been in this kind of situation before. He stood up from the table and they both turned to leave to back to a table they had been sitting alone at. "Wait," Sasuke said suddenly, making them both stop. He eyed the soldier. There was something familiar about him. "I know you from somewhere, don't I?"

"I did not think you would remember, my lord," the soldier said, looking at him again.

"I'm not a lord. Where have we met before?"

"It was eight years ago, my…" He faltered under the gaze of the raven-haired stranger before amending his words to, "Sir. You had tracked an orc pack through the western lands of Gondor, eventually finding them in a ruined village. When you had struck and killed all the orcs but found no children, you searched the entire village. And when you finally looked in a tiny storage room—"

"I almost had my eye poked out by a kid holding a sword and was shaking so bad that I was surprised the sword didn't fly out of his hands," he continued. "I told him that if he wanted the chance to see his parents again—"

"He would need to put the sword down," the soldier finished. "I was that child, sir. You took me back to Minas Tirith and reunited me with my family who had fled there. You disappeared before anyone could thank you."

"There was no need for thanks." He looked the soldier over and saw the little boy who had wet himself while holding the sword all those years ago. But that frightened little boy wasn't there anymore. "You've grown," he noted, taking a drink from his tankard.

"You see?" the old man asked. "He has saved my life and your life, grandson. Truly, the Valar have sent us a Man to watch over us."

"No, they didn't," Sasuke told him bluntly.

"They must have!" he insisted.

"Trust me, they didn't and I can prove it to you with a simple fact. The man who was at Lake-town all those years ago wasn't me, but my ancestor."

"But the mere fact that could call upon a Valar encased in an armor of purple fire…" he began to say.

"It's not a Valar. It's simply a gift of my clan."

Both were stunned by the news. "There are more of you?" the soldier asked him. "Will they come to our aide?"

He frowned a little. "No, they won't come. I'm the last one."

They both saw the look on his face and their backs stiffened. "Oh, my apologies, sir," said the soldier. "I did not mean to sound rude."

He didn't say anything in reply, which made them feel like it was time to leave him alone. "I could use some company," he said suddenly. "Why don't you two sit down and you tell me how you've been these past couple of years?" he suggested to the soldier. It was something that he hadn't done before; talking to a kid he had saved years after the fact. But now was a good a time as any.

Both the grandfather and the soldier smiled a little. "We would like that, sir," the soldier told him.

(Location: Dunharrow)

When Aragorn had awoken from his sleep, he had leapt up with dagger in hand. He had had a nightmare of Arwen and what lay beyond the road into the mountain. It was confusing and disorienting to say the least. So when a guard stood at the entrance of his tent, tell him that Théoden wanted him, he was glad for the news.

When he entered the king's tent, he found a cloaked and hooded stranger sitting in a chair with Théoden standing before him. The Lord of the Mark turned when he heard Aragorn come in. "I take my leave," he declared, walking towards the tent flap. He paused for a moment before the Ranger and Aragorn thought he saw something in the king's eyes. But he walked past before that thing could be figured out.

Once the two of them were alone, the stranger stood up from his chair and removed his hood. Aragorn immediately bowed his head "My lord Elrond," he said with the utmost respect in his voice to the Elf who had raised him.

"I come on behalf of one whom I love," Elrond declared, earning a small look of confusion from the Man. "Arwen is dying." The confusion was replaced with fear. "She will not long survive the evil that now spreads from Mordor. The light of the Evenstar is failing. As Sauron's power grows her strength wanes. Arwen's life is now tied to the fate of the Ring. The Shadow is upon us, Aragorn. The end has come."

"It will not be our end, but his," Aragorn promised his foster father.

The Elf looked at him with the barest looks of mockery. "You ride to war but not to victory. Sauron's armies ride on Minas Tirith, this you know. But in secret he sends another force, which will attack, from the river. A fleet of Corsair ships sails from the South. They will be in the city in two days. You're outnumbered Aragorn," he told the Ranger. "You need more men."

"There are none." All they had were the six thousand spears Rohan now brought to Gondor's aide.

For a moment, there was silence in the tent. "…There are those that dwell in the mountain."

As those words were spoken, Aragorn heard a hiss of breath draw against his skin. The wind picked up around, a cold hard wind, there for a second before disappearing. "Murderers, traitors," he said with a hard tone in his voice. He knew what lay in the mountain. "You would call upon them to fight? They believe in nothing. They answer to no one."

The Elf Lord's gaze hardened at those accusing words. "They will answer to the King of Gondor." He pushed back his cloak and pulled a familiar-looking sword out from beneath it. "Andúril, the Flame of the West, forged from the shards of Narsil," he declared to Aragorn, coming towards him, holding the blade in both hands.

Aragorn walked toward the Elf, meeting him halfway. He knew the hilt that was before him, having seen it many times before in Rivendell. It had sat so long alongside the other shards of Narsil but now, they were remade. With hesitating hands, he reached out and took the sword. "Sauron will not have forgotten the sword of Elendil," he remarked, flipping it over so that the hilt was within his grasp. A hesitating hand reached for it but once he felt the grip in his hand, all hesitation vanished and he pulled out the sword to see it in its full glory. "The blade that was broken shall return to Minas Tirith," he declared.

"The man who can wield the power of this sword can summon to him an army more deadly than any that walks this earth," Elrond told him. "Put aside the Ranger. Become who you were born to be. Take the Dimholt road." He could see that there was still doubt in the Man before him. So he said something he had said once before. "Ónen i-Estel Edain _(I gave hope to the Dúnedain)_."

Aragorn stiffened slightly at those words. They had spoken to him when he had first left Rivendell to join the Rangers of the North. Then, he had been a boy who was going to become a Ranger. Now, his life had changed once more. And he accepted it. "Ú-chebin Estel anim _(I have kept no hope for myself)_," the King of Gondor replied, sheathing the sword.

(Location: Izuna)

He found a small spot alone to practice what few katas he had learned. He found that he could not sleep easily tonight. Perhaps it was because of where they were resting for the night or perhaps it was because it was actually riding to war, he did not know. "You move well," a voice said from behind him, making him stop in mid-punch. He turned to see another elf standing before his small spot.

"Thank you," he said respectfully in reply.

"Tell me, do you wield Aeglos?"

He frowned slightly at those words. No one who didn't know about the weapon asked about it. "I do. How do you know about it?"

"I have known its first wielder. I was his herald at the end of the Second Age."

His eyes widened instantly at that news and quickly bowed his head. "My lord Elrond," he said with the utmost respect. "I have heard of you from Lady Galadriel."

"And I you from her," the Elf Lord said in reply. "Raise your head and tell me, why are you out here in this night?"

"I cannot sleep, my lord. I do not know why."

Elrond looked at him for a long second, his eyes searching for something. "You are afraid," he finally declared.

If Izuna was still the half-elf he had been in Lothlórien, he would've protested and denied the fact. But he wasn't and he accepted that he would face fear. "I might be, but it hasn't robbed me of the chance to sleep before."

There was a small hint of surprise in the older elf's eyes. "You do not deny that fear can take hold of you."

"My sensei taught how to properly use it."

"Perhaps not entirely," he said in reply. "You know that you may die but you fear for those you consider close. You fear that they are going to die." A half bitter, half reminiscent smile appeared on his lips. "Your grandsire was the same. He cared for his companions and his kingdom."

The half-elf fell silent at those words. He had not known his grandsire and could only relay on other people telling him. "What would he think of all I have done?"

"He would be proud of you and happy that you wield his weapon with honor and courage. He would be proud that you ride to war with your fellow king and friend, just as he did with King Elendil." He turned away and began walking. "Aragorn is going to walk a different road this night and it is your decision to stay or go with him. But if you stay, you will ride with the Rohirrim to Minas Tirith."

"I had planned to do that before you came, my lord," he declared.

"I thought you would. And so there is a gift waiting for you in your tent. Hail and farewell, Izuna, grandson of Gil-galad, High King of the Ñoldor," the Lord of Rivendell said with a bowed head before continuing his stride away from the half-elf.

His fears strangely put to ease, Izuna turned to head for his tent. He might not go with Aragorn as they could not fully abandon the Men of Rohan, but there was something he could do.

* * *

Aragorn strode forward toward the Dimholt Road, his hand holding the reins to his horse. His heart felt a little heavy as he walked. Éowyn had found him as he was packing his supplies onto the saddle and begged him not to leave. In doing so, she had all but confessed to him and he rejected her (gently as he could, but rejected all the same).

As he passed a tent, Gimli stood up from where he was sitting, fully clothed and holding his weapons. "Just where do you think you're off to?" he asked the Man.

His intention was clear and Aragorn would not have it. "Not this time. This time you must stay, Gimli," he told the Dwarf.

"Have you learnt nothing of the stubbornness of dwarves?" Legolas asked him as he came up beside him with another horse. By his side was Jūgo, who stood there in silence.

"You might as well accept it. We're going with you, laddie," Gimli declared.

He could not help but smile at them. The smile faded somewhat as his gaze turned onto Jūgo. "Why do you come?" he asked. "You owe no loyalty to me."

"Izuna had asked me to come and keep an eye on you," the orange-haired shinobi told him. On normal grounds, he would've refused, believing that it would be best to follow what Sasuke had instructed him to do. But Izuna had asked him, not commanded or ordered, just like his sensei.

Aragorn had a feeling that if they tried to dissuade him from the course he was joining them on, it would not work. "Very well, you can ride with me."

"That will not be necessary. I'll walk." His voice was quiet but would have no argument.

Once they were on the path, those who would ride mounted the horses. They began to make their way to the beginning of the road. It seemed like the whole of the camp was watching them as they left to go into the darkness of the mountain. "Lord Aragorn!" called out one soldier, but his call fell on deaf ears. Aragorn vanished into the darkness, with Legolas, Gimli, and Jūgo not far behind him.

"Why does he leave on the eve of battle?" Another soldier asked. It was a question they were all asking themselves.

"He leaves because there is no hope," Gamling answered.

"He leaves because he must," Théoden replied.

All eyes turned to look at the king. "Too few have come," his man said in protest. "We cannot defeat the armies of Mordor."

"No, we cannot." A sense of unease filled the air at those words. Their king was admitting to something that they did not wish to hear. However, that sense vanished when he said, "But we will meet them in battle nonetheless." The sense of unease left at those words. They knew their oath and they would come to the aide of their allies.

"You will not ride alone," Izuna's voice spoke out, making all eyes turn to him. They found him dressed in elven armor of such craft and make that it put the armor that the elves had worn at Helm's Deep to shame: a cuirass and fault of interlocking lames of steel plate over a hauberk of fine mail, together with pauldrons and braces and included leather pants. The armor was blued and etched with vine like tracery, and the plates were embossed with Tengwar symbols. At the throat was an insignia of twelve stars on a midnight blue field. In his hand was Aeglos with its tip pointing skyward. "I ride with you."

There were still some who doubted, Gamling among them. "My lord, you are but one man, even if you are the Untainted," he said to them. "What can you do to aid us?"

"I can ride alongside you and join you in the battle that is to come. I may be one person, but I carry a promise that was made near the end of the Second Age, a promise made between two kings."

"What promise is that?" Théoden asked him.

"The promise between Elendil and Gil-galad that when they rode to war, they rode together. Now, I offer that same promise to you, Théoden King. I will ride beside you as had my grandsire, the High King of the Ñoldor, rode beside the High King of the Dúnedain."

His words made others look at him with surprise on their faces. "You claim lineage from Gil-galad?" Gamling asked him.

"He is my mother's sire. I wield his spear and I bear his armor." He looked at the King of Rohan. "I offer you my promise." He offered his empty hand.

"And I accept it," Théoden told him, taking the hand in a firm grasp.

(Location: the Dimholt Road)

"What kind of army would linger in such a place?" Gimli asked aloud as they rode down the path. He may be a dwarf and be comfortable around mountains and stone. But this path made him feel uneasy and nervous.

"One that is cursed," Legolas answered. "Long ago the men of the mountains swore an oath to the last King of Gondor, to come to his aid, to fight. But when the time came, when Gondor's need was dire, they fled vanishing into the darkness of the mountain. And so Isildur cursed them, never to rest until they had fulfilled their pledge."

As they rode on and watched as the path grow narrower and narrower, words came to the elf, words that he felt needed to be spoken. "Who shall call them from the grey twilight, the forgotten people? The heir of him to whom the oath they swore. From the North shall he come, need shall drive him. He shall pass the door to the Paths of the Dead."

Aragorn looked back at his friend as those words were spoken. They were from a prophecy that had been spoken a long time ago. But now, they hung over his head, reminding him of why he had chosen to come down this path.

Soon, the four of them came upon the entrance to the mountain. Those who were riding dismounted and held the reins of the horses as they walked forward. The end of the road lay in what could've been called a grove of trees, if the trees were not dead and were in a more pleasant place. It was in front of a door cut into the mountain, surrounded by skulls and ominous symbols carved into the stone.

"The very warmth of my blood seems stolen away," Gimli said as they drew closer.

As they drew closer, Legolas began to read the symbols on the door. "The way is shut. It was made by those who are dead and the dead keep it. The way is shut."

As those words were said, Jūgo felt his blood go cold. Every instinct he had, even those that urged him to let loose and slaughter everything in his path, told him to turn and flee. But he couldn't. He had been asked to watch out for Aragorn and he would do just that.

A wind came screeching out of the door, making the horses start to panic. Shaking their heads and reins free from the grasps of Legolas and Aragorn, they turned and fled back down the path. "Brego!" shouted Aragorn after his horse, but it would not turn back to him. Instead it fled out of sight. He turned back to the door and held Andúril aloft. "I do not fear death!" he proclaimed, walking through the door and into the darkness.

Both Legolas and Jūgo followed him, leaving Gimli alone outside. "Well this is a thing unheard of," he said aloud. "An elf will go underground, where a dwarf dare not. Oh. Oh, I'd never hear the end of it." With a quick little run, he followed his friends into the mountain.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

It had been when I started working on the interrogation of Saruman that I had realized that if I had continued on the plan I was going with, Izuna would've gone riding into war without any armor and that would not be a good idea. So, if Elrond visits Aragorn, might as well have visit Izuna.

Now a heads-up, but just because Jūgo is going with Aragorn, doesn't mean that there will be any major difference in what happens next. It's just to provide you guys with a view of what's happening to them.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	27. The beginning

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 27: The beginning

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Dunharrow)

When morning came, the great encampment of Rohan's riders was quickly being dismantled. Tents were pulled down, fires were being extinguished, supplies were being collected, and those who were done with their duties, mounted their horses and were ready to ride, heading for the rallying point.

In the midst of all the chaos, Théoden and Éomer came out of the king's tent, heading for their horses. "We must ride light and swift," the king told his nephew. "It is a long road ahead and man and beast must reach the end with the strength to fight."

Éomer wordlessly agreed with him. They mounted their horses and began to ride out of the camp, a guard forming up behind them. But before they went to the rallying point, Théoden took notice of Merry; fully armored and readying his pony, and rode over to him. Hearing the sound of hoof beats behind him, the hobbit turned to look at the king. "Little Hobbits do not belong in war, Master Meriadoc," he said.

"All my friends have gone to battle," Merry protested. "I would be ashamed to be left behind."

"It is a three-day gallop to Minas Tirith and none of my riders can bear you as a burden."

"I want to fight!"

"I will say no more," the king declared, urging his horse forward. Éomer and his guard followed, leaving the hobbit behind.

Izuna took note of what happened and rode forward to meet Théoden. "You did not need to do that," he said to the king quietly amidst the controlled chaos. "Merry can hold his own in a fight."

"A war is different than a fight, Master Izuna," Théoden replied. "And I would rather have Master Meriadoc keep his innocence for a little while longer. He deserves that much from me." He eyed the half-elf. "Would you make some vague remark about your innocence?"

He shook his head. "I made a promise to you, from a grandson of a king to a king. I will not back from that promise now."

"And I thank you for it." After that little talk, Izuna broke off from Théoden's group to just watch the rest of them gather. From where he was watching, he had a perfect view of Merry being picked up by a rider and placed in the saddle. The rider looked young and had a helmet on that hid most of his face.

But Izuna had a hunch and activated his **Sharingan** to see if he was right. It turned out that he was, his eyes all but screaming the truth at him. He deactivated the jutsu and hid a small smile to himself. _"Your secret is safe with me, my lady,"_ he silently promised.

"Form up, move out!" Eomer shouted to the riders, spurning them into greater action. "Form up, move out!"

"Ride! Ride now to Gondor," Théoden called out to his men, riding at the head of the army. They all followed him as they left Dunharrow in a great flood of horses.

(Location: the Path of the Dead)

There was only a single torch burning inside the cave once they were out of sight of the door. The fire burning on it seemed weak and almost sickly-looking at first glance but once Aragorn took it in hand, it burned more brightly.

But that might not have been a good thing. The tunnel that was before them was long, narrow, and filled with wisps of smoke. Any path that split off from the main was short and filled with skulls, human skulls.

While Aragorn kept his eyes focused on the path that they had to follow, Legolas' eyes fell upon on the skulls. Soon, they began to look around the cavern walls themselves, as if looking through them. "What is it?" Gimli asked him, recognizing that he was seeing beyond. "What do you see?"

"I see shapes of men…and of horses," he answered, still looking as he walked forward.

The dwarf looked but saw nothing, making him ask, "Where?"

Legolas did not answer him. Instead, he kept looking around. "Pale banners like shreds of cloud. Spears rise like winter thickets through a shroud of mist." His words made all four of them feel cold inside but also like they were being watched from a place they could not see. "The dead are following," he declared. "They have been summoned."

"The dead? Summoned?" asked Gimli as he swung around to look at where they had come from but saw nothing. "I knew that!" he declared, putting on a small show of bravado, like nothing there bothered him. "Very good. Very good." When he saw that he was alone in that part of the tunnel, he quickly shouted, "Legolas!" and went after his friends.

Jūgo watched quietly as the dwarf quickly rejoined them. "I thought you were a dwarf," he said with a straight face, "Aren't you supposed to know your way through tunnels instinctively?"

Gimli frowned and would've said something in reply, had Aragorn not said, "Keep your focus on the path. It would not be wise to be distracted here."

It was good advice and they paid heed to it. They followed him deeper into the tunnel, even as the feeling of being watched grew as they went. It was when they came across what could only be called a moat of fog that the feeling actually became visible. The only way to continue following the path was to walk through the moat and the second they did, ghostly hands reached up to take hold of them.

Despite the attempt, they could not hold the living. For every time they turned whist walking through the moat of fog, the living brushed the ghostly hands away like they were a simple breeze (Gimli took a more panicked and exaggerated approached by blowing and waving the hands away).

Still Aragorn led them through the moat, torch in one hand and Andúril in the other. He tried to not let the hands consume him with worry and fear as he moved forward. When he looked down, he shot his eyes back up "Do not look down," he told the others. Having heard that (and hearing something cracked beneath his foot), Gimli looked down and saw that through the fog; they had been walking on a bed of skulls. Even Legolas was disturbed by what they were walking on. The only person who wasn't was Jūgo.

Once they were out of the moat, both the elf and the dwarf looked at him. "How is it that you could walk through such a thing without a hint of fear on your face?" Legolas asked him.

"I've walked through worse," he answered. What he didn't tell them was that what he walked through was usually of his own doing.

"We must keep moving," Aragorn told them, leading the way forward again.

(Location: Sasuke)

He had spent the night and the next at that tavern, listening to what people had to say and sharing tales of where he had been and what he had seen. He had a talent for describing things he did not think he had. The people at the tavern enjoyed what he had to tell them, always eager for more stories of other places. More so were the soldier and his grandfather (who shared the same name, Ohtar). They sat with him at the table and listened to what he had to offer. He found that he had enjoyed their company.

But as the night faded away and the day came, Sasuke found himself walking alongside both Ohtars on the wall, smiling a little as they talked to one another. "Have you ever been inside Erebor?" he asked Old Othar.

"Aye, once," the grandfather replied. "But it had been shortly after the dragon had attacked and the King under the Mountain had fallen. I did not see its full glory." A wistful look came upon his face. "I think I would like to. Ah, I probably won't. I'll be lucky if I survive what's coming."

"Don't say that, grandfather," his grandson told him. "You will live."

"Don't tell me something that's not likely to be true, lad. I'm old and I will probably not live for long. What say you, lad?" he asked Sasuke, turning his attention to the raven-haired man. "Do you think I will live?"

"Are you fighting?" Sasuke asked back.

"No, I'm too old."

"Then you'll be fine."

He looked at the raven-haired man and barked out a short laugh that would've made him start coughing if he had kept it up. "You like to keep your answers short! You remind me of my old drill sergeant when you talk like that."

"That would be a first," he remarked quietly. He had met a few drill sergeants in his travels in Gondor and he could honestly say that he had never been compared to one (then again, he had never really been compared to anyone that weren't his family). He had noticed that Young Ohtar had fallen silent as he stared out to the fields. "What's wrong?" he asked, instantly becoming alert.

"They're here," Young Ohtar said in a voice that barely came out of his throat.

Both his grandfather and Sasuke came to the wall to look over its side. In the morning light, they could see what he was seeing. A seemingly endless horde of orcs had poured out of Osgiliath and were marching upon Minas Tirith. It would not take long for them to reach the city walls. The sound of their feet marching across the earth and the drums banging under the smog emitting from Mordor echoed into their ears.

"Valar have mercy on us," Old Ohtar said in a strangled whisper as he saw the siege towers being pushed towards the walls, leading the way for the legions.

"There won't be any mercy," Sasuke told him, his voice never changing. "Not for us and not for them." From the city's higher levels, bells began to ring out, letting the capital of Gondor know of the danger outside its walls.

"The bells are ringing," the eldest of the three said, taking notice of the sound. "They must carry!" He quickly went over to a nearby bell and began ringing it fiercely, adding to the sound.

Yet it seemed like the city still slept while the bells rang and the horde of Mordor marched onwards to the city. "Where are they?" Young Ohtar demanded, looking around to see his fellow soldiers.

"They won't be here right at this moment," Sasuke told him, gesturing to the horde still making its way to the walls. "The bells are doing their job. We have some time to prepare and we must take advantage of it. Go find your armor and weapons, Ohtar. Go find your commander."

"What about you, sir?" he asked, turning to look at him.

"I'll be on the wall, fighting. Now, go." The soldier turned and ran while he watched the enemy march closer and closer. Then he turned away and leapt into the air, using the speed he had been trained to master to reach his equipment.

* * *

When the sun was fully raised, the soldiers of Gondor manned the walls. Despite having enough forces to not be stretched thin, there were only enough to man the first two levels and what remained of Faramir's rangers manned the second wall. What little reserves they had were placed behind the walls of the second level so they could quickly reach the first if called upon.

The man himself stood on the first wall, clad in the heavy armor of Gondor's soldiers, his brother's shield on his left arm and the Horn at his side. To his left stood Gandalf with Glamdring drawn and to his right stood Sasuke, fully armored and with his hand on the katana. Pippin had volunteered to join the fight but had been placed with the reserves.

The horde of Mordor was now within easy sight of the walls and they intimidated the soldiers of Gondor even more. Their catapults and siege towers were crudely built, that was plain to see. But there were many of them and it was very likely they had plenty of rubble to use for the catapults. But for them, they would have to be very careful. If they used what scare rubble they had too quickly, the trebuchets would end being useless.

"Lord Faramir, there are too many for the trebuchets," a soldier told the man after running up to him. "What are we to do?"

"Do not fire until I give the command," he answered, his eyes fixed on the horde.

"Understood, my lord," the soldier said, saluting him before turning to run back and pass on the order.

"What are you planning to have the trebuchets fire on?" Gandalf asked him.

"The catapults and siege towers once they are closer to hit," he answered. "If we can destroy them, perhaps we can make this siege last longer." And hope for reinforcements. That was what was on each and every soldier's mind as they watched the horde before them get closer and closer.

When it finally stopped, it was like they could try to count the number of orcs standing before the walls and easily get lost in their numbers. Before, people had been wondering why it had taken them so long to march out from Osgiliath to Minas Tirith when Faramir and his men managed to flee in much less shorter time. Now it made more sense, the number of orcs and trolls were massive.

Fear began to mount in the soldiers as they looked on the numbers before them. Sure, they had more men then they originally had and the civilians had been evacuated to the higher levels, but just looking out at the horde from Mordor made them pause. If they ever got past the gate and through the defenses, it didn't matter how high the civilians had been evacuated to. The orcs would come in like a plague, killing all in their path.

There was movement among the orcs, drawing the eye of the men on the walls. The crudely built catapults were being pulled back into firing position with the orcs moving hastily around each and every one of them. It was obvious that they were about open fire. "Stand ready!" Faramir shouted. The order carried down the walls and the soldiers shifted their feet and held their shields higher.

As if in response, the orc catapults fired their payload, sending right up onto and a little over the walls. The men on the walls raised their shields over their heads to deflect whatever it was about to hit them. They were expecting stones big enough to either crush them or stun them long enough to be overwhelmed.

What had struck them wasn't that damaging but much more horrible. Cries of shock and horror began to grow amongst the ranks as what hit them fell to the ground, allowing to be seen. When one landed close to Faramir's feet and he saw what it was, he understood. He knew that in the mass panic that preceded the retreat from Osgiliath, more than a few of his men did not make out of the city. And now he knew what had happened to them, for he was staring at the head of one of those men, dried blood caking the neck and a look of horror frozen on the face. The orcs must've tortured them before finally granting them the mercy of death.

He felt shock and horror at the sight, just like the rest of the men under his command. There was a nauseous feeling in his stomach, like he would soon empty its contents and from the sound of it, there were already men doing just that. But he felt more than just that. He also felt anger and rage. He had lost good men and they were treated like this? It was unacceptable!

"SILENCE!" he roared to the soldiers, stifling their cries and making them all look upon him. He looked back all of them, purposely ignoring what lay outside the walls. "We have lost men and it was cruel how we lost them. But do not waste time and strength for them now! We will mourn them later." He pointed his finger out at the fields. "Now is the time when we face our enemies with steel in our hearts and in our hands. Now is the time to show that the White City, the City of Kings, the city that we have fought for since it became the last shield of Gondor will not fall so easily!" He drew his sword and held it high. He remembered how his brother stood amongst the ruins of Osgiliath after taking back and for his brother, the Captain-General of Minas Tirith, he shouted, "FOR GONDOR!"

As he spoke, the fear and horror that lay in the eyes of the soldiers disappeared. What replaced them were steel, fortitude, strength, and the desire to defend their city, to spill orc blood. At his cry, they clashed their spears against their shields. "For Gondor!" they cried in return.

"FOR GONDOR!" he shouted again.

"For Gondor!" they repeated louder, clashing their shields and spears against each other harder.

"FOR GONDOR!" he shouted one last time.

"FOR GONDOR!" they shouted with him, making the sound of their spears and shields echo in the air. They were no longer afraid; they would defend and protect their city.

Sasuke took a step forward, his eyes transforming into the **Mangekyō Sharingan**. What he was thinking of doing at that moment barely required the use of the **Susanoo**, but it still required it all the same. Some soldiers stepped away from him as the purple fire appeared and formed into a semblance of ribs along with a pair of skeletal arms and hands. One hand had a rough shape of a bow attached to it; the other cradled an orb of black fire.

In rapid succession, the orb manifested an arrow, nocked it to the bow, drew back the string, and fired. It flew through the air from the wall and struck one of the orc catapults. He didn't stop there, firing more arrows at the catapult in his range, destroying them all and setting them ablaze.

At the beginning, the soldiers on the wall just watched in silent surprise as the catapults that had delivered their dead comrades back to them collapsed in black flame, taking the orcs nearest with them. Then they laughed and cheered at the sight.

(Location: the Path of the Dead)

They pushed forward through the tunnel, haste and fear quickening their steps. The tunnel seemed to close in around them, intent on swallowing them all. But just as it felt like they would be trapped inside, they came out into a large cavern. They kept their backs to one another while staying an in loose formation, always moving in a circular movement.

The cavern only had half of a floor to walk upon with fog so thick they could not see their feet. The other half just sleepy dropped sheer into an abyss. The other side of the cavern wall seemed so far away when they looked at it. In the wall that had a ground to walk on, a large temple-like structure had been carved out of it, but they barely paid any attention to it.

As they moved, they looked for any signs of the dead who waited there, but saw nothing. "**Who enters my domain?"** a voice hissed in the air and in their ears. They swung their heads to look at the structure, for it seemed that the voice was coming from there. In front of it stood a ghost colored in a pale green light. Its robes were tattered and holed, showing the bones underneath, and its hair was unkempt and stringy. But there was no mistaking the sword it wore around its belt or the crown atop it head.

"One who will have your allegiance," Aragorn declared, facing the ghost straight in the eye while holding both the torch and Andúril high.

The ghost king was amused by those words; they could see it on his skeletal face. **"The dead do not suffer the living to pass,"** he told them.

"You will suffer me!" the Ranger said.

The ghost just laughed and his laugh echoed in the cavern. The same green light that illuminated him now shined throughout the cavern, carving great buildings from nothingness, effectively creating a city. And from that city, the dead came forth, marching towards their king with weapons in their hands.

"**The way is shut!"** the King of the Dead said to the living as his army came closer, repeating the words Legolas had read from the door.** "It was made by those who are dead. And the dead keep it."** At those words, more ghosts appeared by his side, encircling the four living people. They began to walk slowly towards them, their intention clear. **"The way is shut! Now you must die!"**

Legolas instantly nocked an arrow and fired it at the ghost, only to watch as it flew through and clattered against the ground. Gimli raised his axe and Jūgo clenched his fists, but Aragorn strode forward to meet the King of the Dead. "I summon you to fulfil your oath!" he commanded, releasing his grasps on the torch.

Those words seemed to make the ghost angry, for his pace quickened at them. **"None but the King of Gondor may command me!"** he growled, drawing his sword and raising it high. With a scream, he swung it down, intent on cleaving the Man before him. But Aragorn swung Andúril up to meet the ghostly blade, the sound of them clashing together echoing through the cavern.

The ghost king was stunned by what happened and the King of Gondor used that moment to swing their blades down, disengaging at the last moment. **"That line was broken!"** the King of the Dead protested.

In response, the King of Gondor grabbed him by the neck, feeling it in the grasp of his hand, and held his sword to it as well. "It has been remade," he replied in a whisper. He pushed the ghost back away from him but did not go after him. Instead, he held his ground and looked at all the ghosts there. "Fight for us and regain your honor," he told them. "What say you?" He began to move slowly amongst them, holding Andúril high. "What say you?" he asked once more to the ghosts who backed away as he came close.

"Ach! You waste your time Aragorn," Gimli told him. "They had no honor in life and they have none now in death."

But he did not hear the dwarf (or chose not to hear him). "I am Isildur's heir. Fight for me and I will hold your oaths fulfilled," he told them all, brandishing his sword at every ghost he could see before finally leveling it at their king. "What say you?"

But the King of the Dead only began to laugh at him. While he laughed, he and the army he commanded started to fade away from sight. "You have my word!" Aragorn promised as they disappeared. "Fight and I will release you from this living death! What say you?"

But they did not stop until they were gone. "Stand, you traitors!" shouted Gimli to no avail.

The army of the dead was gone and the fog that had covered the ground was blown away by a cold wind. A rumble emerged from the ground and cracks began to form in the walls and ceiling. At first, it only seemed like dust fell from the cracks but as they widened, the four of them also saw that human skulls were falling out too.

Their attention was drawn to the temple when they heard a large groaning come from there. For a moment, they watched in silent horror as it burst open and a virtual tidal wave of skulls flooded out of it. "Out!" shouted Aragorn.

They ran for the other side of the cavern, where the path continued on. But the flood of skulls had already reached their feet and their knees, making it much more difficult to make their way through. For a moment, it almost looked like Gimli would be overwhelmed by the skulls until Legolas and Jūgo grabbed hold of him and all but dragged him through the skulls.

Once they were past the initial flood and found their firm footing again. They ran into another tunnel, never looking back as rocks began to fall, blocking the path behind them. They saw a light from a way out back into the open world and they ran harder to it, wanting to be free of what chased them.

They burst out of the cave amidst smoke and for a moment, they were glad to see sunlight. But that moment turned to anguish when they saw what lay before them. A wide river stretch out before them and on the water were ships flying the flag of Umbar. Behind them were towns that were burning, what happened to them was obvious. They had been sacked and torched.

Aragorn fell to his knees. He had done what had to be done. He went to the one place he did not wish to go because it would make him call upon his heritage and his right. But when he did so, he was laughed at those who he called did nothing. _"What kind of king can I be if I am scorned and ignored?"_ he asked himself.

"May the Valar have mercy on them all," Legolas said, bowing his head to the burning villages. When he was done, he went forward to put a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Those corsairs should for everything they've taken with blood," Gimli said, clenching his axe with a very tight grip.

"They should," Jūgo agreed quietly. He clenched his hands into fists and made them tremble, but there were the beginnings of a bloodthirsty grin forming of his face.

"There is nothing we can do," Legolas said to them in reply.

Aragorn shook his head. "There is always something that can be done." The problem was that he did not know what it was.

A cold wind echoed in their ears, coming from the mountain and the collapsed cave, making the Man stand and turn to face the mountain. From out of the rock wall came the King of the Dead. He approached the King of Gondor and uttered two words. **"We fight!"**

**End**

**Author's Note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

Minas Tirith is going to be a little tricky to write regarding Sasuke. If I use him too much, there will be some of you who are going to accuse me of making him a Mary Sue more than he was already was. Use him too little and there will be some of you wondering why he's being so weak. That is why I'm going to try to balance it all, hence why he only destroyed the catapults and not the siege towers as well.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	28. White stone, black iron

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 28: White stone, black iron

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Minas Tirith)

"Hold, hold," Faramir said, holding his hand upward as he watched the siege towers crawl closer and closer to the wall. In the distance, he could see additional catapults being brought to the front. While these additional catapults made him nervous, he took heart in the fact that it would take them a long while to reach firing position. With any luck, his mithril-armored friend would take care of them long before they could get there.

But for now, his focus would be on the siege towers that were being pushed by trolls. They were made of wood and their protection was a hide of toughened leather and crude iron hanging on the front. It would be able to withstand a barrage of arrow but not one of stones. All they had to do was to wait for them to get closer.

"My lord," one of the soldiers began to say to him as the towers came closer.

"Hold," he repeated, keeping his arm up.

"My lord, they are getting really close."

"Hold," he said a third time. The siege towers crawled forward to the walls, getting closer and closer with each second passing.

Sasuke restrained the urge to roll his eyes. "They are close enough," he told Faramir.

"Not yet," he replied. He wanted them all in range, not just a few. Once the last tower crossed into range, he dropped his hand and bellowed, "NOW!"

The trebuchets on all levels holding them snapped forward, swinging their contents forward and up into the air. The contents were large pieces of rubble that had been scavenged from Osgiliath before it had been lost again. They had a short supply and thus, had to make every shot count.

With each piece of rubble crashing into the towers and completely obliterating them, he felt satisfied at the sight. But then the satisfaction disappeared when he saw that a few had missed their intended target, instead hitting the orcs following. "Reload and continue attacking!" he commanded.

His orders were relayed up and down the wall, the engineers manning the trebuchets hurrying to do their jobs and ward off the enemy at the gate. They fired off a few more shots but the trolls pushing the siege towers had wised up to the fact that they were being targeted and began pushing the towers faster to the walls, trying to get out of the range of the trebuchets. The catapults that the Mordor horde had were also being pushed faster to the front.

The soldiers on the wall quickly suffered a setback in their defense when the remaining Nazgûl appeared over the city on their winged mounts. It was almost as soon as they appeared that they started their screeching. It filled the air and the walls.

All the soldiers who heard the screech grabbed hold of their ears and began to scream in pain. Those who were not strong enough fell to their knees and tried curling themselves up into a ball. The screeching was more than just a physical thing; it traveled deep into their minds where the things that frightened them hid and bid to them to come out.

Even Sasuke was affected, although he did not fall to his knees or clutch his ears. He wanted to hide from the screech and wondered why the Nazgûl didn't use it on him when he struck them at the ford (he later came to the conclusion that he had got them off-guard). But he put his fear aside and barely activated his **Susanoo**, summoning up the ribs, arms, and weapons again.

He swung the bow skyward, ready to nock an arrow at a Nazgûl. When he had one in sight and in range, he fired. The black arrows flew through the air towards its intended target but the Ringwraiths could always see it coming. They flew out of range and allowed them to fall on the orc horde. After five minutes of avoiding his black arrows, they came to the realization that he wasn't firing on them when they were higher up on the walls.

So they hung there in the air over the higher levels of the city, diving down to take out a trebuchet or a few soldiers. What made it worse was the fact that they were doing it at a pace one could almost consider leisurely. If he had less control of his temper (or worse, have Naruto's temper), Sasuke might've found that infuriating.

But he hadn't and he didn't. Instead, he kept his fears aside and kept watching them, waiting for them to slip up. He heard Gandalf distantly shouting, "Hold them back, do not give in to fear. Stand to your posts. Fight!" as he hurriedly went up and down the wall.

"_We heard you the first time,"_ Crabandir thought to himself. But it had the intended effect. Already the soldiers who had cowered at the screeching stood back up on their own feet.

"Return fire!" Faramir commanded and the archers drew arrows and fired them into the horde of orcs down below.

"My lord, the siege towers are upon us!" announced one of the soldiers for all to hear. And all who heard him swung their heads to look at the siege towers that were just a few feet away.

"Do not aim for the towers!" he instantly shouted, stopping what would've been an instant reaction for the archers. "Aim for the trolls! Kill them and the towers will not move!"

The archers instantly aimed their bows downward and fired their arrows. They struck the trolls and the archers enjoyed the shrieks of pain they uttered. More than a few fell to the ground dead. But even more than a few weren't enough to stop the towers from moving in closer.

Sasuke swung his attention to the nearest tower and fired off an arrow at it. It tore through the top level and set every orc inside ablaze. The fire quickly spread down to the lower levels, taking more and more orcs with it along with the trolls. Once it was engulfed in black fire, it collapsed with a loud groan. As it fell, it crushed a good number of orcs waiting at the bottom to start climbing it. It also had the bonus of having the fire spread away from the wall and into the horde, reducing the numbers just a little bit more.

He destroyed a couple more towers in the same manner, preventing them from making contact with the wall. The soldiers cheered each time they saw a tower collapsed, their fears being brought out by the Ringwraiths' screeching disappearing. "Leave some for us, my lord," an especially young soldier told him with a grin. "You can't have all the fun."

"_You baka,"_ Sasuke thought to himself. To the soldier he said, "Keep your attention on the fight."

"We have a siege tower coming closer over here!" another soldier cried out down the wall to his right.

He swung his attention over to where he heard the voice and saw the tower. _"Shit,"_ was his first thought at the sight. The siege tower was too close to the wall now. If he tried to shoot it and set it ablaze, there was a very good chance that the wall would be struck. If the **Amaterasu** hit the wall, it would hit the soldiers, costing lives. They needed to make every life on the walls count; none could be wasted on something like that.

"Will you not take that tower down?" Faramir asked him.

"It's too close," he answered. "They'll have to take care of it themselves."

"My lord!" a runner cried, heading for Faramir. It was clear that he was no soldier by his age (a boy of ten) and the lack of any armor on him (he did have a dagger around his belt). "My lord Faramir!"

"What is it?" the son of the Steward asked him.

"News from the gate, my lord," he began. "The orcs are charging for it right at this moment. They're carrying a ram!"

If it had been any other kind of gate they were talking about, he might've felt concerned. But the man just chuckled and said to the runner, "Go back to the gate and tell them to rain arrows on the orcs."

"Yes, my lord!" the runner said before turning and leaving.

"Why aren't you more concerned about the gate?" Sasuke asked him. He suddenly swung the arms of the **Susanoo** upward and fired off an arrow, hoping to take one of the Nazgûls that had drifted away from the higher level down. But it saw the arrow and promptly avoided it, letting it fall down outside the city.

"No simple ram will be able to break through the main gate of Minas Tirith," Faramir told him with a note of pride in his voice. "It's too strong for the likes of that."

"TOWER!" screamed a nearby soldier, getting their attention. As they had been talking, a siege tower had gotten close enough to the wall to render Sasuke's arrows useless. It reached the wall and its door swung down onto the battlements, shattering stone and sending up smoke. From out of its door, orcs poured out, readying to kill. They met the soldiers of Gondor and with their bloodthirstiness; they took the edge of battle for themselves.

Sasuke instantly deactivated the **Susanoo** and drew the katana. He leapt right into the fight and began striking down the orcs left and right. They may have had their thirst for blood, but he still had his **Sharingan** and he could read all their movements. It was almost pitiful.

He used the word "almost" because even if he could see all their moves, there were still a lot of them and more were coming out of the tower. If he wasn't careful, he could very well be overwhelmed by the numbers alone. Fortunately for him, the soldiers of Minas Tirith did not stand idle as he fought. They came to his aide and began killing the orcs alongside him.

"Another tower is coming!" a soldier shouted from down the wall.

"Over here too!" another cried from the other direction. The sight of the towers smashing down on the walls was not a sight many wanted to see.

"They're coming over the wall!"

"There are too many!"

"Valar have mercy, we're going to get slaughter!"

All these cries and more filled the air as more and more towers smashed against the wall and the orcs came flooding out. The soldiers were faltering and letting the orcs come farther out then they should. Lines were beginning to break and it was only when a horn sounded off in the air that they stopped.

The sound of the horn was the sound that every man, woman, and child knew instinctively: the Horn of Gondor. All soldiers came to at the sound and the orcs froze in mid-rush, their ears ringing with the sound. "MEN OF GONDOR!" roared Faramir for the wall to hear. "STAY TO YOUR POSTS! DEFEND YOUR CITY!"

Those words put the steel back into their spines. They raised their shields and their swords and with a renewed shouted, smashed back into the orcs, hacking away with all they had. The orcs, caught off-guard by the horn and the attack, fell back for a brief moment. But then they started pushing back.

"_Good move,"_ Sasuke thought silently as he beheaded an orc that had charged right at him. The morale of the soldiers would hold them but not for long. However, he wasn't going to tell them that. Right now, they needed to keep to their posts and kill all orcs coming at them.

It was a brief plan but it was a plan that was working. The two forces on the wall moved and flowed at different sections but the soldiers of Minas Tirith were holding firm against the orcs, only giving ground when they were forced too. Dead orcs were beginning to pile up but more of them were pouring out of the towers.

For Sasuke, it was a chaotic confusion of a mess, just like Helm's Deep and the Fourths Shinobi World War had been. And he would be lying if he denied the fact that there was something about this chaos that called to his blood. It was a small and trifling thing in all honesty, but it was still there. He wondered if that was from Madara or Indra.

His wondering did not last long otherwise he would end up dead. His focus had to stay in the fight otherwise he would end up dead. Any orc that came close to him died. He didn't stay in one place on the wall. He moved with the flow of it, attacking wherever he went.

At one point, he found himself back-to-back with Gandalf. "How are we doing?" he asked the White Wizard as he bisected a rather ugly looking orc (which is saying something). He was too busy killing orcs and making sure he and others stayed alive to look beyond the wall's edge now.

"With what exactly?" asked Gandalf in return as he stabbed an orc wield an ugly looking spear.

Even though he could not see it, he was certain that there was some sort of smile on his face as he spoke those words. "Now is not the time for that, old man."

"Indeed," he agreed as he bashed another orc's head in with his staff.

"Well?"

"We are holding for now but we both know that Faramir and his soldiers will not be able to hold the wall for long. Especially if the main gate is broken open," he added.

"Faramir was confident that it would hold." He ducked under a crude swipe from an orc's blade (it was too crudely fashioned to be called a sword) and removed the offending hand and head. Then he kicked the dying orc at another one charging at him, knocking them both down to the ground.

"It is wise to never underestimate Sauron. He will have a way to break through," Gandalf told him with a grim tone.

"Then I'll make sure it won't."

"You are very confident."

He didn't bother to reply, instead turning back to the fight, slashing any orcs who came close. He lost himself in the chaos again, only focusing on what was in front of him that needed killing. It was made easy by his **Sharingan**, almost laughably easy. If things were as dangerous as they were and he was more bloodthirsty, he might've deactivated them just so he could enjoy the fight a little more.

But he wasn't like his predecessors; he would not do something like that for kicks. It might be fun to get lost in the chaos of a fight, but he had to pull himself out of it before he was too far gone (something that he had never done and had no intention of doing). _"Stay on course, Sasuke,"_ he told himself as he took a moment to breathe and refocus.

It was in that moment of refocus that he realized something and promptly felt like a fool. Odds are if Naruto had known about it, he would never let him live it down. _"How could I not see it?"_ he asked himself. It was right there in front of his face!

Now wasn't the time to beat himself over the head. "Keep them off me," he told the nearest soldiers while dissecting a short orc. He didn't bother waiting to hear their response; he just moved forward and attacked.

He cut a path through the orcs, the katana flashing and slicing through the air, drawing blood in arcs from dead bodies. The orcs tried surrounding him and attacking him on all sides. Normally, he wouldn't have had a problem with this and could've dealt with it with ease. But the soldiers he had spoken to had heard him and forced the orcs away from him, leaving him unhindered.

Once he reached the edge of the wall, right in front of a siege tower, he activated the **Susanoo** again. He didn't conjure the bow or the black fire because what he was going to do was simply too easy to need them. Once they saw the purple fire encasing him, all of the orcs surrounding him backed away in fear.

That turned out to be the mistake they shouldn't have made and the opportunity he needed. He simply stretched out the right arm of the **Susanoo** and pushed the siege tower away from the wall. It moved back only a foot or two but that was all he needed. **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"** he said after flashing through the handseals.

He breathed out the fireball right at the tower, setting it ablaze and the orcs still inside it. The soldiers who saw it cheered and pushed harder against the orcs, killing them with new resolve. But he wasn't satisfied. That was just one tower. There were more.

He turned to his left and began to move, deactivating the **Susanoo** as he went so he could be a bit more moveable. He began making his way through the orcs to the next tower, cutting those who were in his way down with no hesitation.

The orcs who saw him coming turned to face him only to be attacked the soldiers. It was a confusing mess for them and Sasuke took advantage of that, plowing through them like a farmer harvesting his crops. The men of Gondor saw what he was doing and kept the orcs in place, stopping them from trying to attack the mithril-armored man.

Two more times did Sasuke repeat his actions, pushing a siege tower back and setting it on fire, before the higher-ups in the horde from Mordor decided to respond. The Nazgûl came swooping back on their beasts, their screech echoing in the men's ears and making them fell their fear once more. Sasuke, however, turned to face them, his hands already flashing through the necessary handseals.

"**Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!"** he cried before breathing more fire from his mouth. The fire took the shape of a dragon's head, the kind of dragon he knew. To those who did not know the kind of dragon he knew, what they saw was a head of a creature that looked vaguely serpentine but with a hidden air of knowledge, surprisingly and oddly. They didn't pay attention to it long.

The Ringwraiths, on the other hand, were completely focused on it and the others that followed after it. They forced their creatures to bank and turn sharply, avoiding the heads by mere inches. The Witch-King was at the front saw Crabandir forming handseals again. He mentally commanded the other seven to fly higher and hang around the upper levels, assuming that the stranger from another land would not strike them.

But what he didn't know was that unlike the **Amaterasu**, a Katon jutsu could be put out. So Sasuke had no problem breathing more dragon heads at the Ringwraiths and their beasts. If they had been human, they might've shouted (or possibly yelped) in surprise. But since they weren't, they did not. Instead, what they tried to do was quickly get out of the way.

They weren't so lucky this time. Two of the beasts were set afire and began to fall rapidly towards the earth while also trying to get back outside of the city proper. They were successful but took out another two siege towers in the process and wiping out a good number of their own forces. Three had taken a dragon head to a wing, tearing a large hole in them. The power of flight rapidly disappearing, they floundered back out of the city and to the horde, where they could land safely.

Of the remaining two, the Witch-King was one of them. He stared at Sasuke for a long second and Sasuke returned the stare, his hands already forming a handseal. The Nazgûl didn't take the silent challenge. They flew away, leaving him and the soldiers unharmed on the wall.

"_That's taken care of,"_ Sasuke thought to himself, watching them fly away for a moment. A ragged cheer came from the soldiers but it faltered when they saw him gaze upon them. Even as he looked at them, he managed to split an orc in half when it tried to attack him. "Fight, don't cheer," he told them.

He turned and kept moving, going back to taking out the towers. The orcs had caught onto his plan and now turned to attack him more than the soldiers, trying to slow him down and prevent him from getting to his targets. It didn't work at first, allowing him to rid the left side of the city of their siege towers. But when he turned and started going back to the right, it began to slow him down.

After wasting more than fifteen minutes slogging through the orcs trying to attack him, he finally got annoyed with it all. The next orc that came at him, he swung the katana low and chopped off the legs. The orc fell to the ground onto its stumps, allowing Sasuke to use him as a jump-off ledge, taking off into the air.

If he still had the Curse Mark, he probably would've used it then and there to fly to the right. Instead, he just ran over the flood of orcs on the wall, applying enough pressure when he stepped on a head to crack it open, killing the orc (a shinobi can always find a way to kill what needs kill, one of the many lessons he learned from Orochimaru).

After reaching the right and dealing with the siege towers, he found himself standing by Faramir behind the soldiers, watching them fight. "The towers are all aflame," he said simply.

"We've noticed," Faramir replied with no sarcasm in his voice. Rather, relief colored it. "Thank you."

"My lord!" a runner shouted to him as he came running. "I bring word that the orcs' catapults are in firing positions! They will start firing on us any second!"

"I'll take care of it," Sasuke said to the Captain-General before he could even say a word in reply. He had done it before, he could do it again.

"Thank you again," Faramir said with a brief nod of his head. The runner, having delivered his message, turned back and left.

"My lord!" one of the soldiers shouted, getting their attention. "The ram is retreating! They've failed to break the gate!" Both Sasuke and Faramir went to the wall to see what the soldier had seen. They saw the orcs who were trying to break down the gate fleeing from the arrows raining down on them.

A loud cheer came up from the soldiers at those words and they redoubled their efforts in killing what orcs remained on the wall. "We may survive this yet," their leader said with hope in his voice.

Sasuke shared that hope, only silently. He might've shared that cheer if he was a more opened person. But he was not. Furthermore, even they had failed to destroy the gate; the orcs were still marching forward. As he watched, he began to hear them chant something. It was faint at first but quickly became louder.

"GROND! GROND! GROND! GROND! GROND! GROND! GROND! GROND!"

He knew from his research that the word they were chanting was supposedly the weapon of Morgoth, the first Dark Lord. And from what he was seeing, the battering ram that was being pulled up to the gate could certainly qualify to be that weapon. It almost seemed like the moment he saw it, the smog from Mordor covered the sun, darkening the land.

To say it was a battering ram would actually be understating it. The first ram that the orcs had used could be carried by them. This battering ram was held in a moving hanger by chains and was pulled by three gigantic beasts at the front as well as pushed by at least six trolls at the back. The head had been fashioned into the shape of a wolf's head with fire burning from its snarling maw and eyes. The orcs had cleared a path for it right up to the gate, chanting its name as it went.

Sasuke looked back at Faramir. In the second that their eyes met, they knew what would happen. The first ram hadn't been strong enough to break the gate, but this one certainly looked like it had the power and strength to do it. It had to be stopped before it could even have the chance to strike the gate.

Sasuke turned and raced for the wall over the gate. From there, he could safely launch himself at the giant and destroy it. But the orcs began swarming him again, their intent to stop him ever obvious. Apparently, they were able to learn as well. When he tried to run across their heads again, every orc he tried to use a jump board was pulled to the ground before he could use them.

He hacked and sliced his way through them but they would not fall away from the katana. In fact, they seemed desperate to throw themselves onto it. They had no regard for their own lives in that moment. It disgusted him but that wasn't what he had to be concerned with. He had to get to the gate and reach the ram. If it struck the gate, it would break and the Mordor horde would have a way to get into the city.

(Location: Aragorn)

The four of them waited at the bank of the river, watching as the Corsairs of Umber sailed closer. "You may go no further," Aragorn called to them when the nearest ship was close enough, getting their attention, Andúril resting on his shoulder. "You will not enter Gondor."

The men on the ship laughed at him. To them, he was a man who stood on the riverbank "Who are you to deny us passage?" the boson challenged him.

"Legolas, fire a warning shot past the boson's ear."

"Mind your aim," Gimli told the elf as he drew and nocked an arrow. While Legolas lined up his shot, something that only took a second, the dwarf used the butt of his axe to tap the bottom of his bow. It was enough to send the arrow flying not past the boson's ear but rather into the corsair standing behind him, burying itself into his chest.

Legolas knew it had been him who did that but he still acted surprised, putting his hand to his mouth and saying, "Oh!" He pretended to quickly recover himself and told the Corsairs, "That's it, right, we warned you! Prepare to be boarded!"

Again, the pirates laughed at them. "Boarded, by you and whose army?" one of them challenged as the ship sailed past.

"This army," Aragorn whispered. It wasn't loud enough to reach the ships, but it was loud enough to linger on the air. With those two words, Jūgo shot across the water, his feet slapping against it as his arms morphed into jagged gauntlets and a grin that thirsted for blood appear on his face.

From behind Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli was a cliff and from out of that cliff came the King of the Dead and his army. They charged out onto the water and followed Jūgo to the ships. The laughs of the Corsairs turned into horrified screams as the monsters fell upon them.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

Sasuke mentally calling the soldier an idiot is something I believe happens a lot in a military. Despite what history has us, there's always that one person who thinks it's just a very good game.

That's one of the reasons way I dislike WWI. One of the history textbooks I had read had a quote about the British men going off to fight that war. Apparently, they thought it would be "Jolly good sport" and would be home in time for Christmas.

For the soldier's sake, Sasuke would be that veteran military man who seen enough of war and fighting to know that it is not a game. It's not even close to a game.

I'll see you all next chapter.


	29. When help arrives

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 29: When help arrives

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Minas Tirith)

Night had fallen but the sky was continually streaked with large flaming pots fired from the orc catapults, briefly but always giving it an ugly orange shine to it. The fire pots struck the buildings more often than the soldiers but it caused just as much confusion.

Some of them tried to put the fires out but most of the soldiers were quickly heading to the main gate, where Grond was ramming itself against it. The booming sound it made on contact with the gate was a loud, echoing sound that hung over their heads as they moved. It also made them want to stop what they were doing, turn around, and run. In all the time since its foundation, not once had the main gate of Minas Tirith ever been broken through.

But now, there was something outside the city that was putting that statement to the test and destroying it with every pounding. That alone sent chills down the spines of the men of Gondor and stilled their feet. But there was more. If the gate was broken, the orcs would come flooding in, attacking anything and everything that even looked vaguely like a Man.

And that wasn't the worst of it. The worst was the fact that they had seen Sasuke, who was known as the Bell Man and as Crabandir, who had destroyed both catapults and siege towers with ease, and had fended off the Ringwraiths with an ease that could inspire both awe and jealously, failed to reach Grond and destroy it before it got to the gate. The orcs on the wall had thrown enough of themselves in front of him and onto his sword to delay him long enough. It was disheartening to say the least.

All these reasons were enough to make any of them turn and run. But they didn't. Partly because of the fact that this was their city and they would not let it fall so easily and partly because both Faramir and Gandalf urged them onwards, shouting, "To the gate! To the gate! Hurry to the gate!"

Sasuke was curter in his urging. "Leave the fires!" he shouted at some of the soldiers trying to put out a nearby burning building. "You won't be able to save it and you're needed elsewhere now. Get to the gate!"

"But my lord!" one of them tried to start protesting.

"Go." He did not shout the word nor did he scream it. He said it with a clarity and calmness that made them feel a chill crawl up their spines. They did as they were told and followed the rest of the soldiers.

"To the gate!" cried Faramir as the soldiers reached its courtyard, the pounding of the ram even louder there then on the wall. They could see a few soldiers still on the wall shooting down the other side of the gate, but few even had a smidgeon of a hope that it would do anything.

"Form a defensive line!" Sasuke shouted at the soldiers, pushing the few stragglers into the developing line. It was a shaky line of defense. Archers struggled to pull out arrows from their quivers and nocked them to their bows. Meanwhile, the other soldiers tried to stay true to the classical defense strategy of Gondor, where one soldier would be open to the enemy wielding a spear and was protected by two other soldiers holding shields to his sides. The idea was to funnel the enemy into those open spots, where the shields would step forward and cut them off from the rest of their forces.

This was already happening but it was ragged and there were more than a few gaps in the defense, either due to a lack of spear in one spot or a shield in another. Soldiers with either tried to fill those holes but they had to push their way through other men in the line to reach the hole and that slowed them down.

Even as they formed the line, the sound of Grond battering at the gate filled them with unease. They were hearing something that they didn't really want to hear. Not even Sasuke wanted to hear that sound and he had tried to stop it from ever occurring. He stood at the front of the line, his hand resting on the katana's hilt.

"Steady! Steady!" Gandalf called from the back, riding atop Shadowfax. His words kept the soldiers in place in the line, keeping them assured and confident despite the situation.

Once again, Grond bang against the gate. But this time, the gate gave way with the screech of wood tearing itself free and the sound of chains shattering, creating a large hole in it. The wolf head of the ram appeared in the hole, frightening the soldiers. It looked like something out of their nightmares and caused more than one of them to lose control of their bladders.

But no one said a word about the smell that suddenly arose amongst them or the sight of wet breeches that appeared one second when they weren't there before. The wolf head pulled back and they knew that the next strike would force the gates open. Once they did, the orcs could come flooding right in.

"Remember who you are!" Faramir shouted to the men from where he stood on the opposite end of the line from Sasuke. "You are soldiers of Gondor. No matter what comes through the gate, you will stand your ground and make them bleed!"

The wolf head appeared once more and struck the remains of the gate, forcing it open just like everyone knew that it would. But what came through the gate first weren't orcs but trolls, armored trolls wield crudely spiked but very large clubs.

"Valar have mercy!" someone screamed.

"The Valar aren't here!" Sasuke shouted back. "We are!"

"VOLLEY!" bellowed Gandalf. The archers drew their arrows and fired them onto the trolls. Those that did have body armor were able to withstand the volley but those that didn't were struck and fell with screams of brief agony.

There were still more coming at the line but luckily for them, Sasuke was there and he knew how to take care of them. **"Chidori Senbon."** His hand shined with lightning in the moment before he threw it. The jutsu found the targets it was sent at, striking each armored troll in the chest plate.

The lightning coursed through their armor and through them, sending them to the ground with a large crash, apparently dead. The soldiers might've cheered at the sight, if they didn't see the virtual flood of orcs coming right at them. The defensive line stiffened up and the spears were lowered.

There were twofold problems Sasuke and Gandalf instantly recognized with the line. The first was that it was still ragged with a few holes. The second was that the orcs did not simply charge at the spears, rather they just charged the line in its entirety, smashing against it like a wave.

For a moment, the line buckled and they thought it would break. But the men of Gondor were made of stronger stuff than that. They held and fought back, blocking the weapons with their shields and killing the orcs with their swords and spears.

"Nock arrows and fire at will!" Faramir shouted to the archers in the rear. They did as they were ordered and rained a volley of arrows onto the orcs.

"More trolls are coming in!" Sasuke shouted down at him, already seeing the next round stomping their way through the gate.

Before the Captain-General could respond, Gandalf came through the lines and rode Shadowfax towards the trolls. It seemed like the Wizard and horse would be smashed by the clubs the trolls held in their hands. But to the surprise of many (on both sides) they seemed to dance out of the way of the clubs while Gandalf struck the trolls down with Glamdring.

But he was only able to get a few as more came in along with a lot more orcs. Sasuke was at the front of the line but he could see it beginning to crack and break. Orcs were beginning to get through the line and even though they were struck dead by the arrows of the archers, soon that wouldn't matter.

Sasuke found himself out in front of the deteriorating line surrounded by orcs. He wasn't frightened by this but the orcs seemed intent on trying to kill him (with the key word being "trying"). He held his ground and killed any that got too close with the katana.

As he was surrounded, he found that time seemed to have become meaningless. All he could see were orcs all around him trying to kill him. He let his focus stay only on that fact and dealt with each one that came at him, one after another after another after another and after another. It became repetitive, even a little boring.

But he quickly banished the thought of boredom. If he got bored, he could end getting killed. And getting killed by an orc of all creatures when he wasn't caught off guard was not the way he would be dying. _"I need to get out of this spot,"_ he thought to himself.

The orcs might not have been very smart but whoever was commanding them (whether it be the Witch-King or Sauron himself) seemed to realized that he would be a threat to their plan. So, they decided to stall and slow him down by throwing away orcs at him. It's a tactic that worked before, having prevented him from dealing with Grond, so they were apparently inclined to do it some more.

As he split an orc in half and then turned to cut another one's head off, he tried to get his bearings back and know which way he was facing. But he soon found out that it was harder than he originally thought. The orcs were crowding him, making him see only them, and he had kept moving and turning in place so he wasn't facing the gate. If he tried cutting his way out, there was a good chance that he would either up reaching the soldiers or more orcs and it was 3-1 odds with the latter.

He spun in place, swinging the katana low and making the orcs back off. He pressed forward in one direction, deciding to take his chances. He began cutting his way through the orcs while those behind him pressed against him and tried to attack his back.

"_Damn it,"_ he mentally growled as he forced to stop and deal with the orcs at his back. He might be wearing mithril armor but that didn't mean he couldn't be killed from a stab in the back. As he fought them off, he heard the sound of another sword cutting through the orcs. Someone was coming.

"Sir!" cried Young Ohtar as he fought his way to Sasuke's side. Once there, they stood back-to-back, fending off all the orcs.

"What are you doing, Ohtar?" Sasuke asked him as he kicked an orc back into the crowd.

"I'm trying to help you, sir," he replied. The raven-haired shinobi couldn't see him, but he heard the sound of a sword piercing flesh.

"You're not. You're stuck with me now."

"That's not a bad thing sir."

He would've retorted that statement if he hadn't been busy removing an orc's head from its body. "Let's just get out of this trap. Follow me." He began cutting his way again, slicing down the orcs in his path. Ohtar followed him, keeping the orcs off his back. For that, he was grateful.

But once they were out of the trap, they saw the condition of the defensive line. It was bad. There were multiple holes in it and the orcs were pouring through them. The soldiers were breaking, many already cut down, their bodies being stepped over like they were nothing but rocks in a stream.

A roar filled his ears and he turned back to the gate. More trolls were coming towards the line with clubs raised high. He went right for them, not even bothering to think about it (which was quite unlike him. It was something Naruto would do). The trolls roared in challenge at him and moved forward to him.

When the clubs came swinging down, he sidestepped it and cut the troll's leg to the bone, making collapse with a howl, which Ohtar silenced with a stab straight in the roof of its mouth, killing it. He leapt into the air at the second troll and plunged the katana into its eye, sending down to the ground with his force.

But as he stood up from the corpse and pulled the katana out of the socket, he heard Ohtar shout "Look—!" before the world went sideways fast. The first sensation he felt was that he was flying. The next was pain as he hit a building and fell to the ground.

He wasn't sure how long he had been out. To him, it felt like a few seconds but it could've been longer. When he did open his eyes, the first thing he noticed was his helmet laid on the ground more than a few feet away from him, smashed by a club. Right next to it was Ohtar's bloody corpse. The side of his torso had been caved in, along with half his face.

Maybe he was trying to still fight the trolls or maybe he was trying to get away. But it was obvious that one of them had killed him like it was nothing. Naruto might've felt anger or outright rage at the sight, but Sasuke could only managed a simple _"Damn it."_

He wasn't sure what Ohtar had been to him. He wasn't a friend but he was…something. But now he was dead and someone was going to have to tell his grandfather. As he shook the dizziness from his head while getting back up, Sasuke realized that thought for what it was. Young Ohtar was dead and someone would have to tell Old Ohtar that news. Silently, he decided that it would be him. He owed the old man that much.

The sight of a fireball hitting the building and the sound of someone shouting "Retreat!" snapped him out of his dizziness and back into clear-focused reality. There was no defensive line anymore. The soldiers were in full retreat, turning their backs on the orcs as they ran.

He got back to his feet and joined the back of the retreat, pushing the soldiers beside him to get ahead. "Fall back through the second gate!" he shouted to them all as they all ran out of the courtyard into the city.

"The city is breached!" he heard Gandalf cry from the front. They were running up the road that would take them to the second level. While this would help keep lives lost to a minimum, it would also let the orcs follow them right to it.

"Look out! Troll!" one of the soldiers shouted in horror.

Sasuke turned to look at the troll leading the orcs behind. He stopped and took a ready stance. "Go!" he told the soldiers beside him, glad to see that they didn't argue, only ran.

But as he was ready to face the horde, a hand grabbed his shoulder. "Sir, we can't hold them here!" the soldier beside told him. "We have to get back to the second level and reform the line with the reserves!"

He could see the logic behind those words but wanted to stay and take them down any way. It was only when he heard the Horn of Gondor blast through the air that he pulled back, recognizing it as a rallying call. He turned and ran for the gate along with the rest of the soldiers with the orcs of Mordor hot on his heels.

When they went through the second gate, the orcs were too close for it to be closed and the defensive line was barely formed. It broke too quickly and the fighting soon spread through the entrance area of the second level, becoming house-to-house fighting. And while the soldiers might've known the city like the back of their hands, the orcs and the trolls had the numbers. The defensive line was scattered and pushed back into the buildings and the streets.

They could hear the Horn blowing and the Wizard shouting, "Fight! Fight to the last man! Fight for your lives!" But they were losing ground faster than they could gain it.

"We have to pull back," Sasuke shouted up to Gandalf once he was close to the Wizard, standing beside Shadowfax. A pale Pippin stood by his side with his sword out. It was stained with orc blood, showing that he was fighting.

"If we pull back, we'll lose more ground," Gandalf told him in reply.

"If we don't, we'll lose more men then we can afford."

"We need more men then."

He blocked a wild swing from a crude mace and decapitated the orc holding it. "We don't have any more. We placed the reserves on the second level and those reserves are now fighting!"

"Wait, I know where there are more men!" Pippin suddenly shouted over the sound of the Horn blowing. "The men of the Tower Guard, they have not been committed. If we can reach them, they could help us turn the tide!"

Both Man and Wizard stared at the Hobbit. Gandalf smiled at him before grabbing hold of him and putting him on Shadowfax. Before Sasuke could say anything in protest about he could get there faster, the two of them rode off. Seeing that there was no use wasting breath about it, he turned back to the fight, making his way through the streets.

Again, he lost track of time as he fought. It seemed like it was still night in the sky one second and the next, dawn began to shine. But at that moment, it didn't matter. All that mattered was that he dealt with the orcs in front of him. He carved a path through them as he made his way through the streets, leaving their dead corpses in his wake.

"Gather on me!" he told the soldiers he came across in the midst of battle, killing the orcs that had been fighting them. They didn't bother to look surprised at his presence once the orc corpses hit the ground. They did as they were told and followed him through the streets. The group grew larger and larger as they moved through the streets, rescuing more and more soldiers that had been trapped. All the while, they heard the Horn blowing.

History, songs, and storytellers would later say that Faramir had blown the Horn of Gondor nine times in defiance of the Nazgûl (as Gondor had not yet heard of the Tainted's defeat by Izuna), making the orc horde pause each time and letting his men rally to him each time as he pulled farther and farther back to the third gate. But in that moment, Sasuke could not have counted how many times he heard the Horn. It just seemed to go on and on without ending as they fought their way through the streets. But when it did finally seem to end, there was a moment of silence. Then, as if in response to its call, another horn sounded.

Sasuke and his group were having a moment to catch their breath when they heard the other horn sound. Compared to the Horn of Gondor, which was like a high, loud, and sharp sound that blasted the very air, this horn sounded lower and longer that floated rather than blasted. As it faded, it sounded again with more horns joining in the sound.

"What is that?" one of the younger soldiers asked, looking up at the sky in spite of the fact he knew he would see nothing there.

His question was answered by one of the veteran soldier, who had a relieved smile on his face. "That is the hunting horn of the Rohirrim," he said. "Théoden's riders have come!"

Uncertainty washed over the men at that news. Was it truly the Rohirrim come to save them? Or was it a cruel trick of Sauron to raise their hopes only to crush them? They did not know and that made them nervous. As the horns sounded again, Sasuke looked at them all. "Worry about whether it's them or not later," he told them. "We need to get to the third level. Now move." He led them back through the streets once more.

* * *

The riders of Rohan had indeed arrived to aid Minas Tirith in its hour of need, arriving with the morning light (which was muted due to the smog from Mordor covering the sun). Their arrival on a small slope overlooking the fields and the city and the horns were enough to make the orcs outside the walls stop and look at them. They were an impressive display, all confident riders of horses, and at a distance they seemed endless, a virtual forest of spears.

Théoden rode forward a little ways from his men, looking upon all the death and destruction that was being wrought before his eyes. In the front of the army, Izuna sat on his horse, clad in his grandfather's armor and holding his grandfather's glaive. Beside him was Éomer. Neither said a word to the other. And even though he did not look back, Izuna knew that Éowyn and Merry were somewhere in the army.

The orcs were finally snapped out of their stunned silence at the sight of the riders; they turned and marched towards them. They stopped after a few feet and waited for them to make the first move. Théoden saw all that he needed to see. He turned his horse back to his riders and locked eyes with the half-elf amongst them. "Izuna," he said.

"King Théoden?" asked Izuna in reply, urging his horse slightly forward to meet him.

"Would you grant me the honor of riding by my side?" The half-elf was surprised by the offer, it was plain to see on his face and it was all he could do to nod. "Thank you," the Lord of the Mark said in gratitude. Then he turned his attention to his sister-son and began giving orders. "Éomer, take your Éored down the left flank."

"Flank ready!" shouted Éomer as he turned his horse to his men.

The king nodded and began riding down the front line of his riders, issuing orders to his commanders. "Gamling, follow the King's banner down the center. Grimbold! Take your company right after you pass the wall. Forth and fear no darkness!"

He turned to his soldiers, still riding up and down the line, never noticing that one rider would not meet his eyes. "Arise! Arise riders of Théoden," he said to all of them, letting his voice be heard as he spoke the words of the Last Prayer. "Spears shall be shaken, shields shall be splintered, a sword day, a red day ere the sun rises!"

As the first line of riders lowered their spears, the orcs lowered their pikes into a defensive line. But the Rohirrim paid them no mind. Their focus was on their king, who had drawn his sword and rode down the line, hitting the metal tips of the spears before him and letting the sound echo in the air. "Ride now, ride now!" he called out to them. "Ride! Ride for ruin and the world's ending!" As the last sound echoed and faded in the air, he turned his horse to the orcs but looked back to his men. He could feel in himself, this would be his last ride. He did not know why but he knew all the same. But he would not let that hang over him. "Death!" he shouted to his men.

"Death!" they shouted in return, feeling his defiance from his word. It was like it resounded in their hearts

"Death!" he cried once more.

"Death!" they cried in return, feeling more of his defiance coursing through themselves.

"DEATH!" the King of Rohan roared one last time.

This time, the full force of his voice, his word, his defiance, his unknown knowledge of what was to come washed over the Rohirrim like a wave washing over a rock. In that moment, they shared in his defiance and roared "DEATH!" one last time for all to hear. And amidst those voices, a hobbit and a shieldmaiden joined.

"Forth Eorlingas!" cried Théoden King. In response to their ancient battle-cry, the Riders of Rohan lifted their horns and blew one more note, a long and low note that sounded like it was a call to a hunt.

Izuna urged his horse forward as the king did the same. At first, it was just at a trot but then it began to change into something more. The half-elf began to feel his blood boil at the sight of the orcs waiting before them with lowered weapons, urging him to get there faster.

He wasn't alone in that urge. The rest of the army had begun urging their horses from a trot to something faster. By the time they had reached the gallop, the entire army was charging head-on to the horde from Mordor, intent crashing into them.

But whoever was in command of Sauron's forces knew how to respond. Archers came forward from their ranks and lifted their bows to the air. In a part of his mind, Izuna knew that they were firing arrows upon them and he also knew that men behind him were dying. But he found that he did not care about it. He wanted to meet the orcs in battle. He wanted to send them running as he rode them down!

Just as quickly as the charge had started, he found himself leading it. With a grin that could've bordered on madness, he urged his horse onward to the spears of the orcs. He leveled Aeglos at them and took no small pleasure in seeing them back away from him and the riders behind him, raising their spears in fear of the sight.

And they should be afraid of what they saw. They had thought that with numbers alone, they would be able to crush any foe before them, not even bothering to bring their own cavalry to this battle. Now they would feel the full brunt of their mistake!

As he drew closer and closer to the horde, his grip on Aeglos steady and his aim true, a battle-cry tore from his voice, echoing in the seemingly quietness of the air. "GIL-GALAD!" he roared as he smashed into the orcs, the first of many.

The Rohirrim crashed into the orcs like a wave breaking through a wall. A great many of them were just mowed down by the galloping horses. Those that weren't run over were hacked down by the spears, axes, and swords of the riders. They tore through the first line of defense so fast that they were through in a matter of seconds, already riding for the second line.

The orcs in that line back away just as quickly as the first line had and they had ridden through just as easily. But by then, the riders had slowed down in order to prevent their horses being ridden to the point of death from exhaustion. The charge had stopped and now it was just a straight fight.

But they had driven far enough through the orcs' lines to cause chaos and disorder. Their attack only aided that. The orcs found that they could not hold against the Men on horseback. That fact seemed to make them turn and run. Izuna found himself to be in his element as he attacked fleeing orcs, killing them with a slice from Aeglos. He was beside both Éomer and Théoden as they killed orc after orc.

"Drive them to the river," Éomer cried as he saw the orcs run.

"Make safe the city," Théoden ordered with a victorious smile. His riders began to urge their horses forward to do as they were commanded by their Marshall and their King but just as the horses began to gallop again; their riders reined them in to a halt. Théoden looked at what they saw and his smile faltered.

Izuna looked too and in that instant, realized two things that knocked his element out of him. The first was the fact that the orcs weren't running away so much as (for lack of a better phrase) they were backing up. The second was that Sauron hadn't been so arrogant to not bring his own cavalry; it had just taken longer to get the front lines.

The Mordor cavalry came in the form of several large creatures stomping their way towards the Rohirrim. Gondor knew these creatures as Mûmakil, which came from Far Harad and were a favored tactic by the Haradrim in war. While the men of Rohan did not know this, they did know what they could see. 1: the creatures were incredibly large, possibly over 20 feet, and carrying large wooden structures on their backs with people onboard chanting in the tongue of the Haradrim. 2: Each creature had six tusks, two long ones on top of their mouths, two stubby ones above those, and two short ones on the bottom, a long trunk that hung between the tusks and it looked like they knew how to use them. 3: On the trunk of each creature were symbols painted in red and black that showed the Eye of Sauron.

An eerie horn sounded in the air from where the Mûmakil were and it made the creatures move faster than they were before. But it also snapped Théoden out of the state of stunned awe he was in. "Re-form the line! Re-form the line!" he ordered his riders, who quickly did as they were ordered, reforming the line of attack. Sound the charge. Take them head-on. Chaaarge!" he cried as Gamling blew his horn again, charging forward to meet the new enemy.

The Rohirrim followed their king into the battle once more, screaming their defiance as they rode with weapons at the ready. But their screams quickly turned into ones of shock, horror, and pain as they reached the Mûmakil and the creatures began swinging their tusks. Some of them had spikes attached and some had cords of rough spiked rope tied between the long tusks, creating a line just above leg height on a horse.

But no matter what was on the tusks, once the creatures started swinging them back and forth, the men of Rohan and their horses were sent flying. The tables had turned so fast that blinking hadn't even been considered. Now the Rohirrim were the ones on the run, breaking up their charge to avoid the giant creatures. But the Mûmakil weren't so easy to lose, especially with the Haradrim steering them. Those who were not quick enough were either sent flying to their deaths from the tusks and spikes or crushed underfoot by the feet and rope.

The problems didn't end there. They also had to deal with the Haradrim warriors being carried atop the Mûmakil. They were skilled archers and showed that skilled by shooting down many riders below them. The Rohirrim that carried bows returned fire and they did but not as many as they would've liked. Most of their arrows struck the hide of the creatures, which didn't seem to do anything.

Izuna was a part of a small group trying to get out from under one of the Mûmakil. It seemed like they would not live after this battle, much less win. But Izuna kept faith in the belief that they would win. He would not abandon the battle, not after making that promise to the king. Even so, more than a few of the riders with him were killed as they escaped. The rest of them scattered across the battlefield. The half-elf took a moment to look at it all. _"This isn't good,"_ he thought to himself as he kept riding.

But as he rode, he saw Éomer atop his horse facing down the very Mûmakil he had escaped from and at the Haradrim steering it. Without any warning, the Third Marshall of the Mark switched his grip on his spear and threw it at the steering Haradrim. The spear buried itself in his chest and he fell off the head of the Mûmakil dead. But he was also tied to the creature by a rope to its ear and when he fell, the rope snapped taut making the creature bellow in pain. It turned in the direction of the pain in order to get rid of it but it was still there. As it kept walking, it crashed into another Mûmakil, breaking its leg and sending them both down to the ground.

A ragged cheer came from those who saw it. Now they knew that these creatures could be brought down and once it was so, they would not get up. They heard another creature bellow as it fell to the ground, unable to get up. Izuna noticed that riding away from the fallen creature were Éowyn and Merry, with her holding two swords and he the reins. What they had done came to him in an instant. _"She went after the legs with the swords. Nicely done, my lady!"_ he silently praised her.

"Aim for the heads!" Éomer commanded the nearby riders, a bow in his hands. The archers began shooting their arrows at the head as they were commanded. The Mûmakil didn't like that and began standing on its hind legs to avoid them all.

"Bring it down! Bring it down! Bring it down!" Théoden shouted, gesturing almost angrily at the creature. As if to obey his orders, his disguised niece rode up behind the Mûmakil, this time bearing a spear, which she threw into its leg. The creature bellowed in pain before finally falling, but in the process Izuna lost sight of Éowyn and Merry.

Without any warning, the half-elf was pulled off of his horse and sent to the ground. An orc stood over him with a sword in hand. Aeglos was more than a hand's reach out of grasp but that didn't mean Izuna was defenseless. He lashed out with his foot and broke the orc's leg, making it fall to the ground. He rolled out of the way and came up with Aeglos in hand. He saw that the orcs were regrouping and beginning to attack again. With their ability to charge severely hindered by the Mûmakil, the riders of Rohan could not use speed as a weapon.

But they still had weapons proper and they used them against any orc who tried to fight them. "Gil-galad!" shouted Izuna as he rushed to the nearest orc, decapitating him with a swing of Aeglos. The other orcs took notice of him and most of them charged right at him. He met them gladly, sparks flying off of both swords and glaive.

He killed two in rapid succession with Aeglos. The third had a bit more skill to his sword but not enough to save him, especially against **Sharingan**. With those eyes, Izuna saw Eowyn fighting close by her uncle's side, killing orcs on foot while he was still on horseback. _"Where's Merry?"_ he asked himself. The hobbit was nowhere in sight.

* * *

The sound of a hammer striking the gate filled the entranceway to the third level of Minas Tirith. The city's soldiers had managed to get past the gate and close it but now, it was all they could do to keep closed and locked.

Despite the tense air, and some took it like it was a moment of respite. Pippin, Gandalf, and Sasuke sat on a nearby set of steps that led to a house with their swords out and ready. "I didn't think it would end this way," Pippin confessed to the Wizard and shinobi.

"End?" repeated Gandalf with a small smile on his lips. "No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain curtain of this world rolls back and all turns to silvered glass. And then you see it."

He paused and the hobbit asked, "What? Gandalf? See what?"

"White shores and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise," he answered, the smile still there.

"Well, that's not so bad," Pippin said with a smile of his own.

"No. No it isn't." He saw the frown on Sauske's face. "Do you disagree, Crabandir?"

"It's a nice image," the raven-haired shinobi said, "But what about those who are still stuck behind the rain curtain?" He had been talking about himself in part but mostly of Faramir.

All three looked at the Captain-General of Gondor, staying with the soldiers to keep the gate closed. As Gandalf and Pippin had ridden for the top level, it turned out that Denethor had had the same idea was already marching down to the battle with the Tower Guard at his back.

All seemed good, until the Witch-King appeared and ambushed them, slaughtering most of the Guard and breaking Gandalf's staff when the Wizard tried to force him away. Denethor had been the one to force the Nazgûl away but lost his life in the attempt. According to what remained of the Guard, Gandalf, and Pippin, his last words had been, "YOU WILL NOT TAKE MY SON FROM ME!" as he had charged at the Witch-King.

Those Guardsmen now help hold the gate shut, their spears mingling with those of the common soldiers. That pounding sound wasn't going away and the gate wouldn't hold forever. They knew that Théoden and his riders had made it to the battle and a good portion of the horde away but someone on the wall also saw Mûmakil and Haradrim join the battle and turn the tide against them. They would get no help from them. They were alone in the city.

"_Soon, that gate will break open and the orcs will come flooding in,"_ Sasuke thought to himself. _"How many more levels will we retreat from before we're all killed? When do we start moving the civilians lest they get killed?"_

"**You're pathetic,"** Indra's voice said from inside his head. **"Time was that you could've beaten back this horde with ease."**

"_Aye, I could have. But I would have set this place ablaze in the process and the people living here would have nowhere else to run to."_

"**Humph, pathetic,"** the voice snorted in contempt. **"And are you planning to die here as well?"**

"_I have never planned my death. But it looks that way."_ And he would not resist if it was. He may die if the orcs broke through the gate and when he arrived in the afterlife, there was a very good chance he would be judged for his actions in life. But he would take a lot of orcs with him before he went.

"**You don't plan on calling for help?"** He asked the question but made it sound like he knew the answer already.

"_What help can come to us? The Rohirrim have lost their advantage and are stuck outside. We're alone here."_

"**No, you're not."**

Sasuke couldn't help but scoff. _"And what is coming to our aid?"_

"**What you've been hounding me for ever since I revealed I could reach back in time,"** Indra answered him.

It was an answer he did not expect and it showed in his reply. _"Wh-what? What did you do?"_

"**What you thought I couldn't: I asked for help. They're waiting, you know, for you to tell them to attack. Now, are you going to call on them or are you too afraid?"**

He didn't answer the question. Instead he stood up from where he was sitting, drawing looks of confusion from Gandalf and Pippin. They were here? They were truly here? Hope rose in his chest at the thought. Indra was right. If they were here, they would need to be signaled. The question was where to signal them from.

He looked up to the nearby wall and immediately dismissed it. It would not be high enough to send a proper signal, not with the orcs right below it creating chaos. No, he would have to send it from a place high enough to be seen or heard. As his gaze traveled along the height of the city, they came to a stop at the spur of at the seventh level, where the one could see the entirety of the fields.

He had sheathed the katana and started running up the street before he had realized that he was moving. The buildings around him began to blur away as he picked up speed but it seemed to him that he wasn't going any faster. He had to get there! When he reached the base of the spur, he changed course.

Instead of racing through the levels, he simply ran up the side of the spur. It took less time and yet it didn't seem like it to him. But when his feet stopped feeling rough stone and instead felt smooth pavement, he knew he had reached the top of the spur. He turned to the end of it, where it was narrowest. There he saw the battle in the fields. From that lofty height, men and orcs looked like ants dwarfed by Mûmakil. And like ants, men were crushed by the bigger creatures.

But as he looked down at the fields, he did not see where they were. For a moment, he thought that Indra had lied to him. _"Where are they?"_ he asked himself. _"I can't see them."_

"_You idiot,"_ another part of him said. _"They're shinobi; they know how to hide themselves."_

"_But we're also talking about him. He couldn't hide himself if he actually tried."_

"_Ten years change a lot of things. Look at yourself."_

There was truth in those words and they strengthened his belief and hope. He had to signal them and he knew what to use for a signal. Folding his hands into the familiar handseals, he readied the jutsu and raised his hands above his head. **"Chidori,"** he whispered.

He had meant it as a bright light and a sound. But as he cast the jutsu, it felt like something was trying to take control of it. Whoever it was just took it out of his hands. The first thing he saw was a flash of light so bright he closed his eyes and stumbled back. When he could open his eyes again, he saw something else entirely.

He wasn't the only one; all saw the flash of light come from the spur and turned to see what it was. And in that moment, the entire battlefield stopped.

Clutching the sides of the spur like it was standing on a branch was an eagle of titanic proportions. Only Sasuke knew it was his jutsu that created it because it was made of lightning. To others, it just would've looked blue. It looked down at the battlefield, taking in everything it saw like he had down. No one moved, no one said a word. Even the Mûmakil had stopped moving. Later, it would be remembered that in the moment it flashed into existence, the smog coming from Mordor vanished, leaving nothing but blue skies and bright sun.

Finally, it spread its wings and lifted its head, opening its beak. A cry came forth from it, a cry that sounded like it came from an eagle but it also sounded like the cry from the **Chidori** itself. Two more times it made the cry, never changing tempo or pitch but always making the echo seem to last longer each time. Then it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Sasuke ran to the edge as soon as it vanished, looking down at the fields. For a long, horrible, dreaded second, it looked it didn't work. But then that second passed.

The first thing that happened appeared from out of nowhere was a large fox easily the same size of the Mûmakil, glowing as brightly as the sun. It charged at the nearest Mûmakil and took it down with two swipes of its claws. It stood over the fallen body of the beast, opened its mouth, and roared.

The second thing that happened was a battle-cry he hadn't heard in a decade. But hearing it now as another Mûmakil fell with a roar of life-ending pain, it felt like he only heard it yesterday. He couldn't help but smile as he heard "SHĀNNARŌ!"

* * *

Something had happened, Éowyn knew that much. She couldn't see what it was. The Mûmakil were being slaughtered by something that wasn't them. She had seen the eagle atop the city and had thought it to be a signal. But to who, she did not know. She was thankful to whoever it was kill the Mûmakil, for they were taking Suaron's cavalry away from his grasp.

"Rally to me! To meeee!" she heard Théoden cry to the riders of Rohan, who had been scattered because of the giant creatures. The men closest to him began to rally to his call, her among them. But before a coherent force could be formed, they all heard the screeching sound of a Ringwraith. Éowyn could only watch in horror as the Witch-King descended from the sky and struck her uncle.

It wasn't a fight. To say that it was would've implied that Théoden had a chance to fight back. He did not. The beast the Nazgûl rode clamped its jaws around the King of Rohan and his horse and shook them both like they were ragdolls. Théoden screamed as he was tossed around and then tossed away, landing in such a way that he was pinned beneath his dead horse.

The other riders backed away in fear of the beast, leaving their king alone there. **"Feast on his flesh,"** the Witch-King commanded his mount.

The beast moved forward, its jaws already salivating at the taste of man-flesh. Théoden could do nothing but watch as it came closer. But then a soldier of his appeared and stood before the beast. "I will kill you if you touch him," he shouted at the Witch-King.

"**Do not come between the Nazgûl and his prey," **the Nazgûl said but the soldier stood firm in her stance.

The beast lunged at Éowyn, jaws agape to bite down on her. But she twisted out of the way and with two strokes of her sword, decapitated it. The corpse flopped around like a drunkard trying to keep its balance, only to fall and take its rider with it.

She reached down and grabbed a nearby shield, holding it in her left and her sword in her right. She knew that a Nazgûl would not be defeated by a mere fall and so she stood ready to defend her king. From amidst the beast's still twitching wings, the Witch-King arose, unharmed like she knew it would be.

He also stood ready for combat, holding a sword in his right hand. But it was the weapon in his left that drew her attention with growing horror. To say that it was a flail would be an understatement. The chain links holding the head to the shaft was as thick as sword-steel. The head itself was a black monstrosity, spiked in the right places to inflict maximum injuries. It looked like it was heavy enough to make a strong man wince at the thought of holding it, yet the Ringwraith wielded it with ease.

With a screech, he swung the flail at her, almost catching her by surprise. She got out of the way of it just in time, letting the weapon strike the earth. The Witch-King pulled it out and swung it around his body and then overhead again. She ducked and avoided it again but she could not find any spots in his defense to attack. It felt like she wasn't so much an opponent as a force of twisted nature she couldn't even try to comprehend.

The short battle came to an end when the flail finally struck her shield. The thing didn't so much as break as it shattered into pieces, also breaking her arm in the process. She fell to the ground and could not get up. Standing victorious over her, the Witch-King dropped his sword and grabbed her neck. **"You fool! No man can kill me,"** he declared as he lifted her up.** "Die now!"**

But then a surprise came for both of them. For Merry had survived his fall from the horse and had been making his way through the battlefield back to Éowyn's side. He had been wounded plenty as he did this, forcing him to crawl across the ground. When he finally found her, the Witch-King was holding her.

Without thinking about it, he drew the dagger the Lady Galadriel had given him and stabbed the Witch-King in the leg. The dagger instantly vaporized in his hand, leaving him with a pain that made him fall onto his back screaming. But his attempt to help worked. The Nazgûl screeched in pain and fell to his knees, releasing his grip on Éowyn.

Finding the strength once again to stand, she did just that. She stood before the Lord of the Nazgûl and took off her helmet, revealing her face. "I am no man!" she declared before plunging her sword into the darkness that lay beneath his cowl. She held it there, twisting it ever so slightly as light inside the cowl coursed over the Nazgûl.

A shockwave blasted the sword out of his cowl and out of her hand, flying away from her reach. The strength she had found to stand vanished, making her fall down again. But that was nothing compared to what she saw. The Witch-King literally crumpled up before her as a harsh wind blew through him, finally falling dead to the ground.

But she did not care about that any more. "Merry!" she cried, looking for the hobbit. She started crawling across the earth, looking for him. Her progress was slow and she could not seem to find him anywhere. Her vision began to blur and she began to see things.

She saw a horde of green ghosts come flooding out of nowhere and attack the army of Mordor. Amidst that horde, she saw two Men, an Elf, and a Dwarf fighting alongside them, cutting great paths through the orcs. As she heard another Mûmakil fall, she saw what looked to be a giant standing over it. Orcs nearby attacked one another with a ferocity and savageness she had expected but she thought she saw looks of surprise and shock on their faces.

As she crawled through the corpses of men, horses, and orcs, she saw her uncle's horse lying on the ground. Changing her course, she made her way over to it. She crawled around to find her uncle still pinned beneath. Reaching out with her unbroken arm, she cradled his head. She stayed there as the sounds of battle faded away.

His eyes opened and the first thing he saw was her. He reached out with his fingers and touched her cheek. "I know your face, Éowyn," he said with a tired voice but it was enough to make her smile. His fingers began to feel numb and he pulled them away. "My eyes darken."

The smile faded away from her face. "No, no. I'm going to save you," she protested.

"You already did," he told her. "Éowyn, my body is broken. You have to let me go."

"No," she said whist shaking her head, the word barely crawling out of her mouth and hardly loud enough to be heard.

But he heard it all the same. "I go to my fathers, in whose mighty company; I shall not now feel ashamed." He felt his body grow weaker and his vison darker. He kept his gaze on his niece, letting his last word be "Éowyn."

Théoden, son of Thengel, King of Rohan and Lord of the Mark, died in the arm of his niece. The last thing she did before the darkness claimed her as well was weep for him.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

So ends the battle for Minas Tirith. Gah, it felt like this thing took forever to write. I almost feel bad for taking this long to finish it. Hopefully, the rest of the story will be smooth sailing (but I doubt it).

Like I said about Sasuke, it's a balancing act. Plus, you throw enough cannon fodder in the way, cannon runs out of ammunition (or in this case, he didn't get to the ram in time).

I think you guys already know who the second batch of reinforcements were for Gondor (if not, I weep at your deduction skills). The question was when to put them in and that was a little difficult at first. But after some thought, I figured the best place would be when the Rohirrim were on the run from the Haradrim. There's just enough time for that to happen before Aragorn's crew show up.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	30. The aftermath

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 30: The aftermath

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Minas Tirith)

The battle for the city and for Gondor itself was over. The city had held and the orc horde, along with their Haradrim allies, lay dead in the fields. But they weren't alone. Alongside them were the bodies of the Rohirrim, both Men and horses. A smoke-like fog had settled in the fields, giving the place an eerie feel and look to it all.

As Gandalf walked through the bodies of the dead, he saw Aragorn standing before the army of Oathbreakers. The Man, along with his companions and army, had arrived from the river sailed the ships of Umbar, taking the orcs there by surprise. That wasn't the only thing that had been taken by surprise. The undead army swept through the orcs, cutting them down like they were nothing and moving across the battlefield like a wind carried them. They even slaughtered the orcs inside the city, which was how the White Wizard was there at that moment, with Pippin by his side.

"**Release us!"** the King of the Dead demanded of Aragorn, his entire army standing behind him.

The Man didn't say anything, but the Dwarf beside him did. "Bad idea!" said Gimli. "Very handy in a tight spot these lads, despite the fact they're dead."

Jūgo had something else to say about it all. "He made a promise, Gimli," he said quietly.

"**The monster speaks true! You gave us your word!"** the King of the Dead told the King of Gondor. There was no venom or rancor in his voice at the use of the word "monster" for he meant it as a description, not an insult. Whether Jūgo took it as the former or the latter, he did not show it on his face.

It was only then that Aragorn spoke. "I hold your oath fulfilled," he declared to the King of the Dead with a humble voice. Hope filled the dead eyes of the ghost and the army at his back. "Go. Be at peace."

A sigh of relief escaped the ghost's lips as a gentle wind blew through, sending wisps of his hair up to dance. The Oathbreakers began to vanish into the wind, scattering to pieces and floating away in the wind. The last they saw was the King's face, happy, joyful, and content. Then it was gone and they were left standing in a field of dead soldiers.

Aragorn turned to look upon the Wizard. "Hail, Gandalf," he said quietly.

"Hail, King Aragorn," the Wizard said in return, bowing his head.

"What do we do now?" Jūgo asked the King before him.

He looked out at the field and saw the dead lying there, broken banners hanging over their heads like eerie trees. "What must always be done," he said. "We gather the dead and tend to the wounded, if there are any."

The orange-haired shinobi saw the same thing he did. "Alright, let's get to work," he said, striding forward amongst the dead.

The others followed him in silence, for such a task should not be taken with conversation in hand. It was a grim business but one that had to be done. There were others already amongst the dead, looking through the bodies to see if there was anyone alive still. Smoke rose from everywhere, creating a fog that seemed to make the fields otherworldly.

Pippin wasn't looking to see if there was anyone still alive, as selfish as that may be. He was looking for Merry, to see if his friend was still alive. He stumbled through the fields, almost tripping over the bodies lying there but always managing to find his balance again. _"You have to keep going,"_ his mind whispered to him. _"You must find him."_

He didn't know how long he had wandered the field of death. It may have been an hour, two hours, maybe only a few minutes. But he finally saw a familiar green cloak amongst the bodies. He ran over to it, picking it up and seeing the familiar leaf. "Merry!" he whispered.

"Nooooo!" screamed Éomer, his voice echoing through the silence. All eyes turned to him as he ran through the corpses, dropping his sword and helm, only to collapse by the side of one of the bodies. He picked it up and wailed a long painful wail. Pippin realized with a lurch in his stomach why he was screaming with a look of anguish on his face. He was holding Éowyn.

"_She…she rode into battle?"_ he couldn't help but think. And now, she was most likely dead.

But to his surprise, someone rushed over to Éomer's side. It was a lady with long blonde hair and some kind of clothing colored in purple (which was a rare dye to have. But the style of the clothes was enough to make any mother scream in horror and cover their children's eyes at the sight of it). She knelt down beside him and began placing her hands over Éowyn.

"What are you doing?" Éomer demanded with a tear-filled voice. The lady didn't say anything as she continued to place her hands on his sister. "I said what are you doing!?"

She looked up at him for a moment and turned her attention back to Éowyn. The Third Marshall of the Mark looked like he was about to strike her when Izuna came rushing up. "My lord Éomer," the half-elf said as he came to a stop before them all. The blood on his armor and on Aeglos showed that he had been in the battle. "Forgive me, but I don't think she speaks the Common Tongue."

He turned to the woman and began speaking in a different language. It was slowly and haltingly, but it made her snap her head upwards to look at him. From Pippin's position, he saw the surprise in her eyes. She spoke and Pippin could tell that there was a question in her voice. It was rapid but he could tell it was the same language he had spoken.

It was slow as Izuna stumbled with his words, his grasp of the language shaky at best. But as the seconds drew on, it became more and more firm. Finally, he looked away from her and back at Éomer. "She's checking to see if Lady Éowyn was still alive and she's wondering if you're related to her somehow."

"She's my sister," the Third Marshal answered. The half-elf told the woman that very thing. She looked up from her once more, giving the man a comforting look. Then she went back to her work again, her hand coming alight with a green energy of sorts. It vanished almost as soon as it appeared and as everyone stared at her in confusion, she turned and whistled, loudly.

A brown-haired man in red clothing plated with armor came running over to her almost as soon as she was done whistling. They spoke quickly in the foreign tongue and then he reached down and picked up Éowyn, holding her like he would a baby. Éomer rose as well and tried to take her back. Izuna stopped him and said something short to the woman.

She answered back just as short and he nodded in acknowledgement. "She says that Lady Éowyn is alive, Lord Éomer," he said quickly. "Her friend is taking her to the city gates so that she might get proper treatment." The brown-haired man took off for the ruined gate and the Third Marshall of the Mark did not stop him.

A shout reached their ears from the other side of the field. A person in black was waving his arms rapidly and shouting something just as quickly as he stood next to one of the Mûmakil. "What is he saying?" Éomer asked.

Izuna looked at the woman, speaking again in that foreign language. She answered shortly and ran towards the green man. "She said something about a child," he translated.

For a moment, no one understood what she was talking about. There had been no children in the battle. Then looks of recognition began to spread among the people who had seen and knew that Merry had ridden into battle. Pippin was the first to start running towards the black man, almost falling down a couple of times but always managing to get back up.

"Merry!" he shouted as he came closer to where the green person was. Another man with a giant dog stood in his way, trying to stop him from coming closer. But he would not stay put. With an ease he hadn't really used since the Shire, he slipped past the man and kept running forward.

He heard Izuna shouting something in the foreign tongue behind him but he didn't pay attention to that. "Merry!" he shouted again as he kept running. He soon reached the man and began looking around for his friend. He found him lying beside a dead Haradrim warrior, from whom he had probably been pull out from under.

"Merry!" the Took of the two said, reaching down and holding the Brandybuck in his arms. "Merry, it's me. It's Pippin!" Tears began to leak out of his eyes at the sight of his friends.

To his relief, Merry managed to crack open his eyes. "I knew you'd find me," he croaked out.

"Yes," Pippin agreed with a smile.

"Are you going to leave me?"

"No Merry, I'm going to look after you." As his friend closed his eyes again, Pippin reached for a nearby cloak. But before he could place it on Merry, the Hobbit was picked up by a woman with pink hair of all things! "Put him down, now!" Pippin ordered her, standing up and drawing his sword.

"Pippin, wait!" Izuna shouted as he came running up. "She's taking him to the city. Take a look around." He did and saw that other people in strange clothing were doing the same, running with a speed he had only see Izuna and Sasuke managed to reach. They were carrying people to the gate of the city and leaving them there to get more wounded. It was a strange sight to see that they weren't taking them into the city itself, just outside the gates.

Even as he took notice, suddenly it felt like all the strength he had with him since the beginning of the battle had vanished. He felt so exhausted and tired, he fell to the ground. Or at least, he would've if a pair of hands hadn't grabbed hold of him. As he faded into the bliss of unconsciousness, the last thing he saw were blue eyes looking reassuringly down at him.

* * *

Night had fallen again on Minas Tirith. The fields outside had still not been cleared of the dead, for the people inside were taking care that those who had been wounded could still be saved. The houses of healing were bursting with the wounded and the healers there had their hands full. Even when Aragorn offered his services to help them (taking care of Éowyn first), they were still full.

As the night went on, Sasuke found himself waiting by Izuna, Legolas and Gimli outside the houses of healing. Even though he knew how to treat a wound, the shinobi didn't have the knowledge needed to save lives. Neither did Izuna, Legolas or Gimli. They were better off staying outside then trying to help inside.

No one said a word and besides, no one could find any words to say. Sasuke didn't say anything because he kept going over what had happened when he found Old Ohtar after the battle had been won. He had told the old man what had happened to his grandson and he had grown silent. The only words he had said were to thank him for giving him the news in person. But the grief he had was obvious once one looked into his eyes.

Sasuke didn't know what else to say at that moment, so he left the old man to his grief. Hopefully, the body would be returned to him so a proper burial could be given. But with the mass amount of dead in and out of the city, he did not have high hopes (or any hope).

They all watched in silence as men went to and from the houses of healing. Many were taking wounded to the houses but there were some that were taking away corpses. It was a morbid thing to see and they saw a lot of it. It just added to their air of silence, even as they listened to screams and shouts of pain coming from the houses. For those of them who had very good hearing (which meant everyone sans the dwarf), they could also hear men and boys crying for their mothers amidst all the noise.

"Why do they cry?" Legolas asked aloud and quietly at the same time.

"It's because they're in pain, elf," Gimli said in a gruff voice. "I know you're immortal, but even you feel pain."

"That wasn't what he was talking about," Izuna said as he kept listening. He wanted to stop but he couldn't, not when his sensei was right there and not bating an eye.

"Well then, what was he talking about?"

"Why do they cry for their mothers?" Legolas asked again, this time to him.

But it was Sasuke who answered. "It's because in the back of their minds, they know that no matter what has happened to them, their mothers will make it all better." He knew that was true, having gone through it himself. Back in the early days, he would wake up from nightmares about that night and wanted his mother to come in and assure him that everything was alright. Those days were long gone, but they still made his heart ache at the memory of his parents.

The elf stayed silent at those words. He had never really known his own mother and his father had never really talked about her, making him grow up without ever really having his mother take care of him when he was sick or hurt.

But Izuna had those times and it just made him miss his mother even more. His eyes turned to the wall reaching overhead. He could not see the fields that lay beyond but he knew that they were there and what lay beyond them: Mordor and Minas Morgul. _"Are you still alive, Mother?"_ he asked himself.

As the hours passed, the men going to and from the houses dwindled somewhat but they did not stop. It was only when they saw Aragorn come from the houses did they finally move from where they stood. "How are they, laddie?" Gimli asked the Man.

"Lady Éowyn and Merry will be fine," he answered. "He will recover more quickly than her, as he only suffered a burn on his hand."

"What of Pippin?" Izuna asked him.

"He was simply tired. He will be back on his feet by tomorrow."

"And the rest?" said Legolas.

There he turned grim at. "Some will die, that much is certain. How many, I do not know and I do not wish to know." He frowned slightly. "I believe that the aide that came to us might be able to save more lives than I can, but I have not seen them since the battle had ended."

The rest of them (save for Sasuke) all shared a look at those words. "I think that might be because they haven't entered the city yet," Gimli answered.

Aragorn swung his attention onto the dwarf. "What?"

"You heard me, laddie. They're standing outside the gate. They're not moving, they're not doing anything. They're just standing."

"I believe they are waiting," Legolas added.

At those words, Sasuke began walking away. "Sensei, where are you going?" Izuna called after him once he realized that he was leaving.

"I'm going to them," he said back. "And I'm going alone." He knew that they would already be following him; he just hoped that those words would keep them inside the city. His walk down the levels of the city didn't seem to last as long as it should have. It all just went past him. But as he stared at the open gate, able to see the ruined fields beyond, it all came right at him with the force of a sledgehammer.

He knew that it was dark beyond in the fields, which didn't have the torchlight like the city had. But even then and even without the use of his **Sharingan**, he could see how many people were standing out there, waiting. He counted eleven in total, as well as a large dog. They were there, outside the gate, waiting for him.

For a moment, he didn't do anything. All of a sudden, the reality of it was right in front of his face. They were there, just outside the gate, after ten years away. Ten years. Those two, almost inconspicuous, words now loomed over his head. He knew that nothing would the same as he remembered it.

In that brief moment, he considered turning around and walking away, to let things go as they have been. But once that moment passed, the rest of his mind quashed that thought like a bug. _"You knew this would be the scenario when you asked Indra to call his brother,"_ he reminded himself. _"You might as well get it over with."_

He straightened his gaze along with his back and walked out of the gate. To their credit, none of the others followed him out. He kept his eyes on them as he came closer, finally stopping about a foot away from them.

They stood there, staring at one another. Sasuke didn't say anything to them but not because he felt like it. There were no words that seemed to work at that moment. He just stood there, in silence, looking at people he had once called friends, not knowing what to say to them.

"We saw your signal," their leader told him in Elemental, a solemn and serious expression on his face. But then it was ruined by the smirk on his lips. "Wasn't I supposed to be the loud one who liked to show off?"

That barbed comment was all he needed. "You still are. All I did was sent you a signal, _you're_ the one who decided to turn into a gigantic fox to attack the Mûmakil. You and I both know that you could've done the same thing with a less flashy entrance."

"Excuse me for trying to make sure that you saw we had acknowledged your signal. I know you hate it when I ignore what you tell me."

He couldn't help but snort. "Well, at least you learned something in the past decade. And here I thought you were going to get dumber."

That might've set some people off into a fit of rage and he knew that if they were ten years younger, the man standing before him would've started yelling angrily. But instead, what he did was laugh. Then he stepped forward and engulfed Sasuke in a big bear hug. "It's good to see you again, you bastard," he declared.

Caught off guard by the hug (when really, he should've been expecting it), Sasuke didn't do anything at first. But then, he reached up and returned the hug. "It's good to see you too, dobe," he replied quietly, only loud enough for the both of them to hear him.

The blonde soon broke the hug and stepped back, allowing Sasuke to look at him once more. He had grown taller again, easily matching his own height if not just a little bit taller. And by that hug alone the Uchiha knew that he had packed on some more muscle. His hands were more calloused then the last time he had seen them, although there was a long thin scar on his left that disappeared up into his sleeve, suggesting that things hadn't always been peaceful back in the Nations.

He had let his hair grow shaggier but kept it contained to his head, letting the strands touch the air above his shoulders while the rest was held back by his headband. If Sasuke had to guess, he was trying to either imitate his father or godfather in that regard but someone kept making sure it didn't. There was some hardness in his blue eyes, but not enough to suggest he had become cynical. In fact, he probably still believed in people.

He wore white pants and a black jacket that had green prayer beads wrapped around the left arm. He also wore a black haori that stylized orange flames at the bottom. The black was the color of night and the orange was the color of a sunset. There was some stiffness in the clothes, suggesting that they were partly armor.

Sasuke took his eyes off his friend and looked at the rest of the Konoha Eleven, first settling on someone also familiar. "Hello, Sakura," he said to the pink-haired kunoichi. She wore a shirt much like his, only hers was a deep crimson red with black edges and had a mesh shirt peeking out beneath. Whether it was short-sleeved or not, it was hidden by a white jacket. A pink sash was wrapped around her waist and beneath that was a pair of dark brown pants. She had grown out her hair again, but not to the same length as their Genin days. This time, it just touched her back.

She came forward beside Naruto. "Hello, Sasuke," she said to him while idly wrapping her hand around Naruto's. He saw this and instantly understood what it meant. Apparently she was the one who kept the blonde's hair in check.

He looked around at the others, taking notice of them all. Shikamaru had become the spitting image of his father, goatee and all as well as dressed in the uniform of a Konoha Jōnin, including the flak jacket. Chōji had surprisingly slimmed down some in the past decade, having also cut his hair short and had begun growing a beard. He wore fewer pieces of armor but that hadn't stopped him from attacking the Mûmakil with his jutsus. The only thing that really looked different about Ino was that she had grown out her hair to the point where it reached the back of her knees, albeit braided. Her clothes had remained the same; her skirt had just become longer.

Shino also looked the same, just taller and had added a flak jacket to his clothes. Hinata had changed her clothes more radically then her teammate, wearing a sleeveless blouse with an obi around her waist and pants that covered all of her legs. They were all dark in color, which contrasted with her pale skin and complemented her long dark hair. Kiba wore a flak jacket beneath a fur coat with grey pants on his legs and black fingerless gloves on his hands. His hair had grown out and like Shikamaru, he had a goatee. Sitting by his legs was a dog that looked suspiciously like Akamaru (which didn't up to the math Sasuke mentally did concerning the dog's age).

Rock Lee looked the same as he did ten years ago, only more muscular and had exchanged his green jumpsuit for a black one with a flak jacket. Tenten wore the same clothes as well, but her clothing was obviously armored (which made him wonder if she was the one who gave Naruto his clothing) and she too wore a flak jacket. And Sai was the same as well, with only his shirt actually covering his upper body and a large scroll being carried on his back.

As he looked at them all, it became clear that Naruto and Sakura weren't the only ones who had gotten together. Hinata stood close to Kiba and Ino did the same with Sai (although, he wasn't sure with Lee and Tenten). "…I would say hello to the rest of you as well, but I don't know if you would accept it," he finally said to them all.

Not surprisingly, Kiba barked out a laugh. "If we didn't feel the same way those two felt, why would we be here?" he asked, pointing at both Naruto and Sakura with his thumb.

"_Because he told you to come,"_ he mentally said.

"He didn't tell us to come," Ino told him. "He asked us and we said 'yes.'" Then she smiled at him. "And no, I didn't invade your mind. I just knew that you were thinking it."

"I know that you weren't in my head," he said shortly. He looked at Naruto. "How did you know?"

"I had a dream of Asura a few months back. He told me what happening over here and said that you needed help," he replied. "So we came. We got here as soon as we could but the battle was already occurring."

"I know. I was there at the beginning. Why didn't you enter the city after the battle?"

"Well, we couldn't just walk in without permission, even if we did help end the battle. That would've been rude."

He restrained the urge to roll his eyes and instead snorted a laugh. "I guess someone has finally tried to teach you some manners."

The blonde just smiled. "That. And I was certain it was the surest way to get you to come to us."

He just turned around. "Come on, let's go. They could use your help in the houses of healing." There was the barest of smiles on his face as he turned, for he was happy to see them all again. But as they all started walking, he let Naruto take the lead slightly, letting him see his back. As he had expected, the characters were there but what had surprised him was the number. "Who did you succeed?" he asked the blonde as he quickened his pace again so that they walked side-by-side.

If Naruto was surprised by the question, he didn't show it. "Kakashi-sensei," he answered. "And before you ask, no he wasn't late to the induction ceremony. He hasn't been late to things for the past decade."

"You miss it, don't you?"

"And his excuses," he agreed. "Although, I've been meaning to use 'lost on the road of life' for some time, but Sakura wouldn't let me."

"I'm not going to let you take on Sensei's bad habits," she said with a swat on his arm. It was obvious that she was holding her strength back; otherwise he would've gone flying through the field. "If you start it, you know damn well who would take after you. And I am not going to hear my children tell me that they got lost on the road of life when they show up two hours late."

He caught those words and knew full well what they had implied. But he put it to the back of his mind as they approached the gate, where Aragorn and the others waited. They came to a stop and he stepped forward, acting as translator. "This is Naruto Uzumaki, the Nanadaime Hokage of Konohagakure of Southern-Earth and his men," he introduced the shinobi to them. "He asks permission to enter the city and help in any way he can."

All eyes fell on Aragorn. As he was technically the king of the city and of Gondor, it fell to him to answer. "He and his friends are welcome to enter and to aid," he replied.

He nodded and looked to Naruto. "Who are they?" the blonde asked him, looking at the people before him.

"The Man is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. The Elf is Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood. The Dwarf is Gimli, son of Glóin." He pointed to each person as he spoke their names. Then he rested his eyes on the last one. "And he's my student, Izuna Uchiha, son of Madara Uchiha, a half-elf." He paused for a moment, letting the information sink into their minds and to see their reactions. "Aragorn has welcomed you to enter and help in any way you can."

"Tell him he has my thanks," Naruto replied. Then he turned to look at the others. "Sakura, Ino, head to where the injured are and help tend to them. Team 8, go through the city and help find anyone who has gone missing during the battle. The rest of you, keep a watch on the walls. If you see any second attack forces coming for the city, I want one to stay behind and warn us while the others attack," he ordered them all. No one argued against his orders, they just nodded their acknowledgement.

"Izuna," Sasuke said to his student, getting his attention. "Take these two women to the houses of healing and translate for them." He pointed at Sakura and Ino to emphasize his point. Izuna nodded in acknowledgement. With a small gesture, he beckoned them to follow.

* * *

The rest of the night passed with such busy work. All those who had duties in the city tended to them. But by morning, Gandalf had called a meeting for the Fellowship and invited Éomer to join them. Sasuke brought Naruto along to the meeting. Even though he did not speak the Common Tongue, he belonged there. Fortunately, no one objected.

They gathered in the hall of the King. Both Sasuke and Naruto kept near the door but stayed close enough to watch all of them. Izuna stood nearby. Both Uchiha clansmen had changed out of their armor but that did not mean they didn't think they weren't in danger.

"Frodo has passed beyond my sight," Gandalf declared after a long moment of silence. To hear him say that was troubling. "The darkness is deepening."

"If Sauron had the Ring we would know it," Aragorn remarked as he idly stared at one of the statues of his ancestors.

"It's only a matter of time. He has suffered a defeat, yes, but behind the walls of Mordor our enemy is regrouping."

"Let him stay there! Let him rot!" Gimli said from where he sat on the throne of the Steward, smoking his pipe. "Why should we care?"

"Because 10,000 Orcs now stand between Frodo and Mount Doom," the White Wizard told him, making him go silent and think about those words. But Gandalf himself could not help but feel guilty. "I've sent him to his death."

There Aragorn disagreed with him, for he had an idea. "No. There is still hope for Frodo. He needs time and safe passage across the plains of Gorgoroth. We can give him that."

"How?" asked Gimli, asking the question that everyone was wondering.

"Draw out Sauron's armies. Empty his lands. Then we gather our full strength and march on the Black Gate." His answer made the Dwarf on the throne cough on his own smoke.

"_The suicide tactic?"_ thought Sasuke, frowning slightly. He could see the merits of it, but that still didn't mean he thought that it was a good idea.

"What are they talking about, Sasuke?" Naruto asked him quietly.

"A plan of action," he replied.

"We cannot achieve victory through strength of arms," Éomer pointed out to Aragorn.

"Not for ourselves. But we can give Frodo his chance if we keep Sauron's eye fixed upon us. Keep him blind to all else that moves."

"A diversion," Legolas remarked, seeing the point of it all.

"Certainty of death, small chance of success," Gimli listed off what would happen to them all if they went with this plan. It sounded like he was against it, only to finish with a single question. "What are we waiting for?"

"Sauron will suspect a trap," Gandalf said to Aragorn. "He will not take the bait."

"Oh, I think he will," the King of Gondor replied before turning to look at the person no one expected. "Izuna, I shall require your aide in this."

"Me?" Izuna repeated, surprised by those words.

"Yes."

* * *

When the hour was dark and the night had fallen over the city once more, Aragorn and Izuna came back into the hall of the King. In the Man's hand was Andúril and in the half-elf's was Aeglos. In silence, they approached the thrones where Gandalf had placed his wrapped palantir on the steps. From behind them, Sasuke and Naruto watched in silence. A silent reason had whispered in Crabandir's ear that he needed to be here for this, he and his friend.

Aragorn took the palantir off the steps and placed it on the ground. Kneeling down to it, Izuna pulled away the cloth whist Aragorn knelt too. A flash of light appeared before their eyes from the orb, making them avert their gaze for a moment. But as they reached out and took hold of the palantir, taking it up off the ground with their hands, they looked at it and saw the Eye of Sauron looking back at them. The Black Speech filled their ears as they listened to his voice speak to them.

What he was saying, they did not know and at that moment, they did not care. "Long have you hunted and tormented us," Aragorn said to the Eye.

"Long have we eluded and endured you," Izuna spoke.

The next two words spoken, they spoke as one. "No more!"

"Behold the Sword of Elendil!" Aragorn cried, holding Andúril's hilt in sight of the palantir.

"And gaze upon the Spear of Gil-galad!" Izuna declared, bringing the blade of Aeglos before the Eye while also activating his **Sharingan**.

They did not know what Sauron would do next, so they had no defense for it. The Dark Lord took what he had seen as a petty move, so he responded in kind. To Aragorn, he showed Arwen, the elven woman he loved dying alone. To Izuna, he showed his mother being tortured and tormented in the bowls of Minas Morgul. For the Ranger, he could hear his name on Arwen's lips and for the half-elf; he could hear his mother screaming. Tears began to leak out of his eyes as they began to morph into the **Mangekyō Sharingan.**

He could not bear to look anymore. With a cry, he threw the palantir away, making Aragorn stumble back in surprise and inadvertently causing the Evenstar to smash against the floor, shattering it to pieces.

The palantir flew through the air and all eyes stayed focused on it. When he saw that it was about hit the ground, Sasuke reacted instantly. He threw out his left hand and caught the stone right in his palm. The Eye of Sauron found him with his **Sharingan** blazing. The Black Speech grew louder and more forceful, making them all hear it. It sounded like Sauron was trying to command him.

But his eyes remained focused on the stone, unwavering and unyielding. He stared into the Eye of Sauron and looked deeper than any other had dared to do. Suddenly, he saw the scene of a battle, of opposing forces clashing against each other. Something deep inside him told him that he had been there and it was the battle that ended an Age. He saw all of it and yet, he also saw just one little part. But that one part made him all the more confident.

"I see _you_!" he said in a voice that commanded attention and it did. The words of the Black Speech died away instantly. "I see what you did when last we met in combat. You _ran_! You turned and fled from me because you _feared me_! You only turned your attentions to Gil-galad and Elendil because you knew if we met in combat, _you would not win_! I am coming, Sauron. I am coming for you. But I will not be coming alone."

He did not know if he had unconsciously signaled the blonde or if he just acted on his own. But at the moment he said those words, Naruto placed his right hand on the palantir. The stone flared up into a bright light as Sauron felt the other Man bearing the sliver of a sliver of the Valar's power look upon him. "My brother rides by me," Sasuke continued. As he spoke, another voice layered itself onto his, a deeper richer voice that he knew belonged to the man who fought in that battle. "We are the sons of Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, son of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, also known as Bariel, daughter of Melkor, and we _do not fear you_! Now begone! Trouble us no more until we come to end your miserable existence!"

The palantir went dark and silent. For a long second all eyes stared at it. Then Naruto was the first to break the silence. "Kami, Sasuke, here I thought _I_ was the melodramatic one!" he said in perfect usage of the Common Tongue. "You have changed."

"…Naruto, how are you able to speak the Common Tongue," Sasuke asked his friend. "You don't even know it."

"I don't know," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. But then he smiled. "It'll sure make understanding everyone a lot easier though."

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

And so, after ten years, he has finally reunited with the Konoha 11. If any of you think that waiting outside the city for him to come out with melodramatic, I have the perfect response: duh. It's been a decade; they're allowed a little melodrama. Plus, going into a city where they didn't speak even a hint of the language? That's called a lot of problems in a short amount of time.

Sasuke and Naruto being there to take hold of the palantir had been in my head for some time. And I also figured that if Aragorn was going to challenge Sauron, he might as well include Izuna in it. I think that Sauron (being the immortal evil spirit that he is) sees Aragorn not just as him, but also as Elendil, the leader of the Faithful of Númenor, who defied him. So, it makes sense for him to have the same attitude with Izuna, being of Gil-galad's line.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	31. Differences and similarities

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 31: Differences and similarities

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Minas Tirith)

"So, how is it that you know the language of this land, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked from where he sat at the table. In his younger days, he might've leaned back against the wall with his hands behind his head but he was older now and sat properly in his chair, looking at the man he followed.

"Hell if I know, Shikamaru," Naruto replied as he shrugged his shoulders, sitting at the head of the table. They were sitting in a tavern that would've been empty without them, giving them some privacy. Jūgo and Izuna stood outside, keeping guard. The only person who was inside the place aside from the shinobi was the tavern keeper and he was only there because they were.

Before the incident with the palantir, Aragorn and Éomer had sent orders to what remained of the Rohirrim and Gondor forces to be ready the next day to head out to Mordor. Seeing that there was nothing they could do now that the injured in the houses of healing had been tended to and the soldiers of the city had taken over the watch, the shinobi took the time to rest and talk amongst themselves. Silently, they acknowledged that it was a chance to catch up with Sasuke.

But right now, the main concern was how the Hokage could speak the Common Tongue. "Ugh, troublesome blonde," the Nara amongst them grumbled.

Naruto just grinned. "That's no way to talk to your Hokage," he said in reply.

"Yes, it is most unyouthful!" Lee agreed loudly.

"Thank you, Lee."

"You took me on as an advisor because you knew I didn't take any crap," Shikamaru reminded Naruto.

"Yes and that you would actually help me run the village."

"Then help me out here and give me some information I can process and go over in my head."

"Honestly, Shikamaru, I don't know how I know the language. It just came to me after I put my head on that stone I told you about."

"Right after Sasuke was holding it, correct?" he asked while focusing his eyes on Sasuke.

"Yep," the blonde answered. "Are you thinking that he somehow transferred the language?"

"That's exactly what I'm thinking."

"How would he do that?" Kiba asked.

"First, we'd have to know about the stone itself." His eyes traveled over to where Sasuke sat at Naruto's right. "What is it?"

"I don't know much about it," he replied.

"It's more than we know."

He could see the point there. "Apparently, it was part of a set that enable the users of separate stones to communicate at long distances."

"Wait, there was more than one?" Tenten asked him.

"At one time, there were seven. But four were lost over the years, some of which have fallen into the hands of the enemy. They went from being an advantage to a liability."

"Damn."

"Uh, Tenten?" said Lee, looking a little nervously at his teammate. "You have that unyouthful gleam in your eyes again…"

"What was that, Lee? Did you say something?" she asked him with a smile that just screamed danger.

Fortunately for him, his rescue came in the form of Sasuke. "I should mention that they are considered a national treasure. Even considering taking one is a crime punishable by death."

"I know it's been ten years, but even you must realize that sounds like a challenge to her," Chōji remarked as he drank the ale in his tankard.

"Tenten, we are guests here," Naruto reminded the kunoichi with a firm tone in his voice. "I expect you to behave as such."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," she replied. The gleam disappeared from her eyes but Sasuke made a mental note to warn Aragorn about her.

"So, what do you think happened, Shikamaru?" Ino asked her teammate, looking at him.

"It's most likely that the two of them subconsciously communicated with one another as they held the stone," he replied. "Sasuke probably thought that Naruto would need information about the land we're in and started him off with the language."

"So, would it work with any of us?" Ino wondered aloud.

"I doubt it," Sasuke answered her. "And even if it did work, I would recommend against it. We're not the only ones with a stone."

"Still, it works out in the end," Sakura remarked. "Now we have two translators instead of one. We won't have to stay in one group to understand people. And if you two can start teaching the language, it will make things even easier," she said to both Naruto and Sasuke.

"Good point," the blonde of the two conceded. "I guess I'll start with Shikamaru then."

"Hey, why him?" said Kiba in slight protest.

"You mean besides the obvious?" he asked, his tankard half-way to his lips as he spoke. "Let's be honest, Kiba. Out of the two of you, I think that Akamaru would get the language faster than you would." He brought the tankard the rest of the way up and drank from it.

"I don't see how that would be possibly since that's not Akamaru beside him," Sasuke remarked quietly, looking at the dog beside the Inuzuka.

It wasn't meant to be a secret because Kiba just snorted in laughter. "Of course this isn't Akamaru," he replied, placing a comforting hand on the dog. "This is his son, Aoimaru."

After looking at the dog again, the Uchiha could see some similarities proved what he said. There was just one question left. "Why didn't you bring Akamaru?"

"He's an old dog, Sasuke. If you had been in the Nations, he would've come. But I was worried he wouldn't make the voyage here."

"Have you spent all these years on this continent?" Sakura asked him.

"Yeah," he answered. "I took the first available ship I found and it took me here. I tried to stay away from seaports as much as I could, only go to them when I had no other options."

"I never thought you were afraid of the sea," Shino remarked quietly.

But he heard him. "I'm not. I just wasn't going to take any chances of being found out. I didn't know if the Nations knew of this continent. If they did, I wasn't going to risk the chance of being found out and taken back."

"Well, we didn't know about it," Chōji told him.

"You're not the only shinobi village. For all I knew, Kumo or Kiri knew about it and were just one sighting away from sending ANBU units after me."

"You don't think very highly of their attitude about you, do you?" Naruto remarked.

He gave the blonde a look. "After the things I've done and what they might do to me, would you?"

For a moment, all anyone heard the sound of the fire behind Naruto's back crackle and snap in its pit. The Konoha 11 waited for their leader to say something in reply. At first, he just raised the tankard in his hand to his lips and drank from it. "Gah, this stuff is bitter," he complained as he put the tankard down. "Why am I drinking it again?"

"Because you ordered it," Sai reminded him.

"Oh, right." He put the tankard down and pushed it away slightly.

"Ease up, Naruto," Kiba said before taking a swig from his own. "It's not that bad."

"I'll leave that up to our resident food expert." He looked pointedly at Chōji as he spoke. The Akimichi chose not to comment on that, even though the Hokage was looking right at him. After a minute of silence, Naruto gave up and turned his head back to Sasuke. "So, what have you been doing?"

"Just now?" he asked with slight sarcasm. "Just sitting here and talking with you."

"That's not what I meant. What have you been doing for the past ten years?"

"…Nothing much," he answered after a pause. "I just went from one place to another, wandering around."

"Then why has that one blonde guy with the pointed ears keep calling you Crabandir?" Ino asked him.

"His name is Legolas and he's an elf. I told you this already," he said to the Yamanaka.

"Yes, yes, I know you told who and what he is, but that's not what I'm talking about and you know it. Why does he keep calling you that word?" Even though she had no idea what the language was speaking, she could tell that he referred to Sasuke like that by always starting off with that word in greeting.

"It's just a name they gave me. It's Sindarin for Raven, roughly."

"Gave you?" Hinata repeated.

"Sindarin?" said Shikamaru with a questioning tone in his voice.

"Yes, gave," he told the Hyūga amongst them. "I'm not Naruto; I didn't go announcing my identity everywhere I went."

"Hey, I'm right here, ya know," the aforementioned blonde said with a hurt look on his face.

Sakura just laughed. "That's why he said it. You did tend to do that, Naruto."

He frowned at first and then pouted. "I thought you were supposed to be on my side." Those words just made her laugh again, something that almost sounded musical to Sasuke's ears.

"Hey, what's Sindarin?" Tenten asked, repeating Shikamaru's earlier question.

"It's one of the Elvish languages, the most common one in any case," Sasuke answered her. "I know some of it."

"It's not one we're going to have learn, is it?"

"No, you won't." They weren't going to be here that long to learn it anyway. Why bother?

"I think that you're called more than just that title," Naruto remarked. "I heard some people call you the Bell Man out on the streets. I take it you didn't tell people your name."

He didn't answer the blonde, which prompted some of the others to look at him with the question on their faces. "I had a hat with bells on it that jingled wherever I went. The children were the first to call me that name." Truth be told, he didn't like the name at first (it was annoying to hear those children come after him screaming "Bell Man! Bell Man!" all the time). Then he grew to not care about it (it was only a name after all. Let them call him what they wanted). "Orcs used to fear the sound of those bells jingling."

"Orcs," Hinata said, repeating the word and hearing it on her own tongue. "Were those the creatures that we fought and killed?"

He nodded. "They're a plague on these lands that never seem to go away. If you see an orc, kill it."

"I'd be willing to bet that the orcs had a name for you too," Chōji remarked.

"You'd win that bet."

There was a brief victorious smirk on his face at that news. "Nice. So, what was it?"

"Blood Eyes," he answered shortly.

"Ha!" Kiba barked. "Not very imaginative, are they?"

"Orcs aren't known for their intelligence. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's discouraged." He could be wrong but every orc he seemed to meet was dumber than the last one.

"You know, I heard something interesting in the streets," Naruto said as he looked at his friend. "Something about the Bell Man going from the savior of children to the defender of the city. You and kids, Sasuke?" he remarked with a grin. "Are you holding something back from us?"

"No," the raven-haired of the two replied.

"Really?" the blonde asked.

"Yes."

"Then why are they calling you a savior of children?"

"Because I used to save them," he answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

But it just made everyone stare at him like he had grown a second head. "You, the most anti-social guy in the Academy?" said Kiba. "_You're_ going around saving kids?"

"No need to sound so surprised."

"I'm sorry, but it's _you_."

"Kiba, how many times have I asked you to stop stating the obvious?" Shikamaru asked him with a tone that was both annoyed and patient at the same time.

"Come on, Shikamaru. It's _him_, for crying out loud!" He gestured with both hands at Sasuke, emphasizing his point.

"We get it already, Kiba," Hinata said quietly from beside him.

"Why would you do something like that?" Sakura asked Sasuke.

"Because I could," he replied, perhaps a little harsher than intended. "Orcs were taking kids away from their homes and their families to do Kami knows what to them. There is no real force that would be able to track them down in the right time. Why shouldn't I have done something to save them and bring them back to their families?"

They didn't say anything in reply, knowing full well that he had a point. He had lost his family and suffered for it. They could understand how he felt that no other child should have to go through that ordeal. Such an act of selflessness would no doubt make the parents try to reward him. But some of them knew him well enough to know that he probably would've refused and didn't stay around once the children were back home safe. While others might call that rude, they knew it was him being him.

So they didn't call him out on it. "Speaking of children, there is a question that we have all been wondering about for some time now," Naruto said, a serious tone in his voice and a serious look on his face. "That kid standing outside this place with Jūgo, is he really Madara's son?"

"Why are you asking that" Sasuke asked back, instantly becoming on guard for his student.

"You know why. Is he Madara's son?"

The Uchiha amongst understood what the Hokage was saying when he repeated the question a second time. He was asking if Izuna shared Madara's ideals. "No, in that sense, he isn't. As far I know, Madara only saw him once as a child. He was raised by his mother's people in the woods of Lothlórien. And besides, the Elves would have a problem with you if you were planning on killing him."

"And why's that?" Shikamaru asked.

"He's the grandson of their last High King."

"…All his personal information sounds like the beginning of a story," he remarked dryly.

Sasuke would've snorted in contained laughter if he was the sort of person to do that. But instead, he stayed silent. "How much have you taught him?" Naruto asked his seriousness turning into curiosity.

"Not as much as I would like. But hopefully, if we both manage to survive this, I'll be able to teach him more."

The blonde smiled. "I hope so too. I want to see how much the student of my friend can do."

"The same here," Sakura said with a smile as well, pointing it right at Sasuke.

For some odd reason, he couldn't help but stare at her when she smiled. There was something about it that wanted to make him smile too. A strange feeling bloomed in his chest at the sight and it concerned him. There was something going on between Sakura and Naruto, something he figured from their words and actions but he wanted to confirm it. "So, you two are together," he commented, looking at them both.

While the others (with the exception of Shikamaru) were surprised by his words, they weren't. "Kami, Sasuke, how'd you figure it out?" Naruto asked him, not embarrassed at all at being found out.

"She said something about children while chastising you about Kakashi's habits," he remarked, glancing over at Sakura.

They both shared a look at those words. It was a brief one and then they turned back to look at him. "We are parents," the blonde of the two answered. "They are triplets, one boy and two girls. And they drive me crazy." But he said it with a smile.

"Congratulations," he said in reply, despite feeling his stomach twisting into an unhappy knot. "I'm sorry I missed the wedding."

"That's not a problem, considering that we aren't married."

If he had been drinking, he might've done a spit-take. Instead, he went for a surprised look on his face. His eyes swung back and forth between the two of them. "You have kids, and you're not married?"

Sakura smirked. "When did you become old-fashioned, Sasuke?" she asked him. "You know full well that there are many couples in the village who have kids and aren't married."

It was true, but he had been raised in a clan and he was taught that you could only have children with a woman when you married her. Infidelity was not tolerated in the Uchiha clan. But his two friends were not part of a clan (not unless there were more Uzumaki survivors he wasn't aware of). So he didn't press them on that. Instead, he asked the obvious question. "How'd it start?"

The rest of the Konoha 11 was resigned to hear the story again (having asked the question and heard the story themselves), but Naruto and Sakura were happy to tell it. "Well, let me tell ya, it wasn't easy," Naruto told him. "I spent at least a year begging on my knees after the war, trying to get her on a date."

"Finally, just to get him to stop, I said yes to one date," Sakura continued. "After that, I agreed to another, and then another, and then another, until finally we ended up living together. He didn't try to seduce me nor did he take me out for ramen every time. He actually took me out to dinner and escorted me home like a perfect gentleman."

"And I still resent the fact that you acted surprised at the fact that I could," her boyfriend told her.

"You're you, Naruto. What else would I have expected?"

"In her defense, we were expecting the same thing," Shikamaru said.

"Is that why you lot stalked us on the second date?"

"We had to see it for our own eyes," Ino said in protest. "And we were really annoyed with you two when you decided to flee through the window."

"How else were we supposed to get away from you?" Sakura asked her friend.

"Guys, aren't you misleading Sasuke?" Sai asked the Hokage and his girlfriend.

Confusion raged on in his head at the question, but Sasuke kept it off his face. "He's right," Shikamaru agreed. "You two are engaged and are in the midst of planning your wedding."

"Oh yeah, whoops," Naruto said with a sheepish expression on his face. "I forgot about that."

"Why would you come here if you were in the middle of planning a wedding?" Sasuke asked him.

This time around, he didn't look so sheepish. "Because someone called out for help and we all answered."

* * *

They spent the reminder of the time in the tavern talking about trivial things. But they soon realized the fact that they need to get some sleep and went their separate ways. Even though he technically shared an apartment with Gandalf and Pippin, the Hobbit was spending one last night in the houses of healing and he had no idea where the Wizard went off to.

He lay there, trying to go to sleep but with no success. His mind was too busy racing around with thoughts. Maybe he shouldn't have asked to see a picture of the triplets, but he couldn't deny the fact that he was curious to see them. Naruto was all too happy to show a picture of them that was taken at their third birthday. They were chubby in the way only toddlers could be but had happy expressions on their faces with big smiles too that he knew they got from Naruto. The boy, Haru, was the only blonde amongst them while his sisters were redheads. But while Hikari was a true redhead, her sister, Hotaru, had a pinkish tinge to her hair. And despite what kind of hair color they had, they all had their father's eyes.

As he had stared at the picture, he couldn't help but imagine them with black hair and dark eyes. That image was quickly banished from his mind but it stuck around and he couldn't help but feel ashamed. He shouldn't be doing that. Sakura was with Naruto now, not with him. He had his chance and he blew it big time.

He knew that but still he stayed awake, thoughts that he shouldn't be thinking of plaguing him. What would've happened if he had stayed instead of left? Would Sakura have still wanted to go out with him? Would he have married her? Would those children be his instead of Naruto's? _"Stop it,"_ he told himself, turning over in his bed. _"You had your chance, Sasuke. You were too focused on Itachi to see it. She's with Naruto now. You should be happy."_ And while he was, there was still some jealously inside him. He kept seeing her face, her smile, even when he closed his eyes.

The door to the room creaked open, making him go still and becoming alert. Slowly, he reached for the kunai he had stashed, taking hold of the handle. Only when the creaking stop did he turned around with the kunai in hand, ready to attack. But as soon as he saw who was at the door, he stopped himself and lowered the kunai. "What do you need, Sakura?" he asked his former teammate, taking notice that she was only wearing a robe.

She closed the door and locked it before looking back at him. She started to walk towards him, her hands reaching for the belt holding the robe. With a simple of her shoulder, she sent it to the ground in a heap. When she reached him, she leaned forward and kissed him.

He did not push her away when he felt her lips on his. She kissed him with enough passion to push him back against the bed, making them both fall down. He landed on the bed and she braced herself from crashing into him by placing her hands on both sides of his head. They stared at one another, not saying anything at first.

She hovered over him, placing her own knees between his legs to prevent him from getting free. In the position he was in, he saw everything and as much as he wanted to believe that he didn't want it, he was aroused by the sight of her naked. "We shouldn't do this," he told her. She didn't say anything in reply. "You're engaged."

"I know," she replied.

"You have children."

"I know."

The light from the moon shined through the window and onto her, turning her skin pale and illuminating. He knew that she had become beautiful since he had seen her last but now the fact struck him full in the face. She was beautiful, she was naked, and she was above him with intent so clear that even the stupidest person in the world would've gotten it.

She leaned down and kissed him again with the same passion, this time bringing in her tongue to pry open his mouth. He responded to it just as passionately while reaching up to her hips with his hands. With a quick flip, he reversed their positions, pinning to her to the bed with him above her. Then, he descended.

* * *

The next morning, the courtyard before the gate was filled with what remained of the Rohirrim and the soldiers of Minas Tirith. They were doing a last check to make sure their weapons were honed and sharp, their armor strong and maintained, their supplies maintained, and their horses readied.

Izuna was garbed in his grandfather's armor once more, sitting atop his horse. "Thank you, Gríma," he said to Wormtongue who handed him Aeglos.

"Will I be joining you as you leave for battle, my lord?" the Man asked, not daring to look the half-elf in the eye.

"No, I want you to stay in the city, help however you can." He bowed in acknowledgement and walked away, careful to avoid attracting the gaze of any Rohirrim. Izuna watched him go. He had Gríma been doing things that would not occupy him for the long term. If they were successful in this gamble and they won the war, he would need something and the half-elf didn't know what it was.

"Thinking deep thoughts, young Izuna?" Gandalf asked from atop Shadowfax with Pippin riding with him. The half-elf didn't say anything, only kept watching Gríma walk away. The Wizard saw who he was looking at and said nothing. It was not his place to do so.

Sasuke sat on a borrowed horse near the broken gate, waiting in silence as the men mounted and readied themselves. After what happened last night, he had awoken to find himself alone in the bed. Romantics might've wandered if it had been a dream but he knew it wasn't. It was also why he took great pains to avoid the Konoha 11 since he got out of the bed. He was not going to cause problems with them with what he and Sakura did. It was a mistake, plain and simple. But he also knew, given Naruto, that if he spoke about it, it was most likely going to come to a fight and they didn't need it. They had to focus on the suicide tactic.

"Are you ready?" Aragorn asked him, coming up to his side on Brego. For once, the Ranger had forgone his normal clothes and cloak. Instead, he had dressed in chain mail with a surcoat over it and a long cloak of black on the top and red under the bottom. His arms were protected by Boromir's vambraces and his shoulders were protected with plates of steel. Emblazoned on the surcoat was the symbol of Gondor, the white tree. Andúril hung around his waist. He did not look like a Ranger at that moment. He looked like a King.

"Are you?" Sasuke asked back. He was clad in the mithril armor and the katana was belted to his waist. A quick glance over at the shinobi told him that they were clad in the clothes they came in.

"Yes."

"Then so am I." He looked at the men there in the courtyard and saw that they were ready and waiting. Jūgo was nearby on foot, having refused a horse. So was Legolas, who rode with Gimli in tow. Merry rode Éomer and Pippin with Gandalf.

Aragorn saw the same thing he saw and nodded his head in silent acknowledgement. It was time to go. He moved Brego to the gate. "Men of Gondor and Men of Rohan!" he called out, getting their attention. If anyone had noticed the fact that he didn't say anything about the shinobi, they didn't say anything. "We ride!"

He turned his horse around and rode out the gate. The Fellowship followed him, Izuna riding by his side. Jūgo walked alongside Sasuke, as always keeping a protective eye out for him. Behind the Fellowship but ahead of the soldiers rode the Konoha 11. Together, they all rode to one last battle.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

First off, regarding the relationships, I told you people straight out of the gate that I was a NaruSaku fan. When the manga ended and it was revealed that Naruto got with Hinata, I made it clear that I wasn't going to let that stop me from making my own pairings. So don't come to me asking how I could do something like that. You don't like it? Get over it.

And no, that little scene near the end was not me pandering to the SasuSaku people out there. It had actually been in my mind ever since I started considering what things would be like after ten years. I had actually debated with myself on whether to use it or not. But I used it all the same in the end. Plus, it helps me with the epilogue and it leaves you guys with the two questions: will Naruto find out and if he does, is he going to attack either of them?

I'll see you all next chapter!


	32. One last round

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 32: One last round

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Black Gate)

When the gate came into sight as they marched on, the backs of every soldier there stiffened slightly. They had reached their destination. Even when most of their horses did not want to continue, they dismounted and kept on marching. Now came the time to do battle with the hordes of Mordor. They had marched for days on end with nothing but what lay before them in sight.

But as they came to a stop before the gate and took in the menacing sight of it (all black iron and tall spikes), they also saw that there was no one, not even a single orc, was there waiting for them.

"Where are they?" Pippin asked quietly from where he sat on Shadowfax. It was a question that he wasn't alone in wondering. After what he had seen in the palantir, Sauron must've known that they were coming and would've promptly prepared for them. But there was nothing. They had marched all that distance to see nothing but intimidating gate.

While some men would've just given up at that moment, Aragorn was not such a person. He urged Brego forward to the gate while also signaling the Fellowship, Éomer, and the banner carrier to ride with him. When they were but a few short feet away from the gate themselves, they came to a stop. "Let the Lord of the Black Land come forth!" the King of Gondor shouted up to them. "Let justice be done upon him!"

At first, there was no response from beyond the Black Gate. The silence dragged on while they still stared up at the gate. It was only when they started looking at one another that they felt that things were beginning to feel a little awkward. They were getting no reply and they sat there on their horses looking like a group of idiots.

But then the sounds of gears turning and metal groaning began to be heard. The Black Gate was opening. They had been heard. The gate opened just enough to let one person ride through. From the other side, one person did atop a horse that was more skeletal then flesh. As they watched him come through, the Fellowship and Éomer realized that "person" might've been stretching it for a description. He was cloaked in black robes and armor, his head hidden beneath a giant helmet inscribed words of a black language, blocking everything but his mouth, which was not something to be proud of.

"My master Sauron the Great bids thee welcome," the creature spoke in a deep voice that vibrated with an evil taint that made them wince as they listened to it. Its mouth was twice as large as it should've been. The teeth inside the mouth were large and rotted to a state of decay that it was a miracle they were still in. But the worst part was the flesh scars around the mouth that moved and opened whenever he spoke.

They all stared at him with horror and disgust on their faces (Sasuke less so then the others. He had faced off against Orochimaru, Madara, and Kaguya. This guy had nothing on them). "Is there any in this rout with authority to treat with me?" he asked them all, a derisive and mocking tone evident in his voice.

"We do not come to treat with Sauron, faithless and accursed," Gandalf snapped at him, making him growl and bear his teeth. "Tell your master this. The armies of Mordor must disband. He is to depart these lands, never to return."

"Aha! Old Greybeard!" he said with an amused laugh, making the Wizard unsure. "I have a token I was bidden to show thee."

He reached into his robe and pulled out a mithril shirt, easily the size a hobbit could wear. The Fellowship bit back a breath at the sight of the shirt. "Frodo!" said Pippin. The servant of Sauron threw the shirt at the Wizard, forcing him to catch it. It seemed like the shirt crumpled in his grip, like there was no more life to it.

"Frodo!" said Pippin again, only louder, making the servant growl and grin savagely.

"Silence!" ordered Gandalf.

"No!" Merry cried, making the servant grin wider, exposing more of his rotten teeth.

"Silence!" said the White Wizard again, but to no avail. Grief was evident on the faces of the Fellowship at the sight of the shirt.

"The Halfling was dear to thee I see," the servant remarked. If they could see his eyes, they might've seen a cruel gleam in them. "Know that he suffered greatly at the hands of his host. Who would've thought one so small could endure so much pain? And he did, Gandalf, he did."

His savage grin was still there as he looked over at Izuna. "Ah, the seed of Gil-galad has come. My master had bidden me to tell thee that your mother has been a most stubborn guest in Minas Morgul, forcing her to be corrected and chastised many times. Her corrections and chastisements were not gentle."

The half-elf began to tremble in his saddle and tried to keep his emotions under tight guard. "Do thou not care for the woman who birthed thee? I shall convey thy feelings to her, for I have known her to call for thee or thy father," the servant told him. Izuna's grasp on his emotions slipped and tears formed in his eyes, making the servant grin savagely again. "Perhaps I was mistaken in my belief after all. Thou do care after all. My master also wishes to know if thee have used the gift he had deigned to give you in the land of Calenardhorn."

A furious look emerged upon Izuna's face, his eyes morphing into the **Mangekyō Sharingan**, making the servant smile again. He raised Aeglos up to strike the servant, only to have Sasuke reach out and grab hold of the shaft. "Now isn't the time," he told his student. "Calm down." Izuna looked at him, the fury and sadness shining in his eyes. "Calm down," he repeated.

Slowly, Izuna lowered the glaive and deactivated his eyes, letting the red and black fade away. The smile on the servant's mouth vanished into an irritable look. "Sauron the Great has seen thee as much as thou has seen him, worm. He wonders why thee did not put thy home to the sword as thou had promised thyself so many years ago."

He did not say a word, already knowing the answer to that question. In that silence, Aragorn had Brego move forward. The servant swung his helmeted head to look at him (if he could). "And who is this? Isildur's heir?" he asked derisively. "It takes more to make a King than a broken Elvish blade—"

Whatever he would've said next was lost when the aforementioned King rode up beside him, drew his blade, and lopped off his head with one stroke. The head flopped into the air and then fell to the ground with a thud that could barely be heard.

"I guess that concludes negotiations," Gimli remarked.

Aragorn turned to face the others, looking them all in the eyes "I do not believe it," he told them, speaking of Frodo's fate. "I will not."

Meanwhile, Izuna dismounted his horse and moved towards the head, his grip on Aeglos so tight he might cause the skin to break open and bleed. With a savage thrust, he mounted the head onto the blade. He lifted it up so the head was facing the Black Gate. "You want me that bad? I'm right here!" he shouted out. "Don't send someone to do what you want!"

He swung the head up and off the blade, sending it skyward. He clasped his hands together and began flashing through the necessary handseals. **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"** he cried, breathing a fireball up at the head, burning it to ashes that floated away on the wind, past the gate.

As in response, the Black Gate opened. It was a slow process but the crack that was already there grew wider. Beyond it, the Fellowship could see orcs marching towards them. There seemed to be no end to them as they kept marching in tight uniformed lines.

"Pull back!" Aragorn commanded, turning Brego around. "Pull back!" Izuna quickly got back on his horse and together, they all rode back to their men. The gate was now wide open and the orcs marched through, looking large and larger by the second.

The soldiers that had come with them saw the approaching army and began to slowly back away in fear of the sight. They could see the numbers that were coming towards them but they did not expect that many and it didn't help that there was more behind that. They were literally pouring out of the gate and around them all, entrapping them and ensuring that there was nowhere left to go.

"Hold your ground!" Aragorn shouted to them all as he and the others rode up. "Hold your ground!" He had Brego stop before the army and began trotting before the front line. "Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers," he began addressing them. "I see it in your eyes, the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day! An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the age of men comes crashing down, but it is not this day! This day we fight!" He paused for a moment, making Brego come to a halt. "By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand! Men of the West!" he cried, raising Andúril above his head. His words made them put the fear away and the steel back in their spines, making them all stand taller and draw their swords.

The Konoha shinobi couldn't hear the words Aragorn was using in his speech (aside from Naruto) but they could tell that he was saying a speech. When they saw the swords being drawn, they shifted their balances, readying themselves for the fight. "I take it that was the pump-up speech?" Naruto asked Sasuke. He and Izuna were right next to the shinobi, still in the saddle.

"Yeah," he answered.

"And that little ride to the gate was the pre-battle trash talk."

"Yep," he replied.

The blonde looked over at Izuna. "Not bad for a threat, kid. I could really hear the emotion in your voice," he told him.

"Thank you, I think," Izuna replied. He wasn't exactly sure that what he did was something that should be praised. He cast a look at his sensei but he was staring straight ahead at the oncoming orcs. Then all of a sudden, he began to dismount. Surprised by the action, his student nonetheless followed his actions. "Sensei, why are we dismounting?" he asked.

"They're about to surround us," Sasuke answered, looking at the orcs as they split down the middle and began going around them. "If the horses are caught, they'll cause a panic and wreck more damage on us then they will to the orcs." He turned his attention over to Gandalf, who had heard what he said. "You should tell Shadowfax to lead them away before they get caught."

The Wizard didn't say anything in reply, only nodded and dismounted, bringing Pippin down with him. The others on horseback dismounted, following his example. Gandalf whispered into Shadowfax's ear. The lord of the horses listened and neighed once before turning around and moving through the soldiers. The horses followed him at a trot but once they were through the soldiers, they broke out into a gallop, reaching freedom just before the orcs cut off the Men of the West. To the Rohirrim who saw the horses get away, their hearts were glad.

Gimli looked at the orcs before and around him. He was probably in the battle that might end his life and yet, there was only a single thought on his mind, one that seemed inconsequential after all he had been through. But old habits and grudges died hard. "Never thought I'd die fighting side by side with an elf," he remarked.

"What about side by side with a friend?" Legolas asked the dwarf, looking down at him with a smile on his face.

"Aye, I could do that," he answered in agreement.

Sasuke saw that the orcs had stopped moving and were waiting in place. The Black Gate was wide open now, letting them all see into Mordor. What they saw was obscured by the orcs, letting only the dark clouds and the tower of Barad-dûr be shown. There was an orange light shining from the tower and he had no doubt that was Sauron. _"Do you feel safe there?"_ he silently asked the creature they had come to distract.

He didn't get an answer and he wasn't expecting one. "Jūgo," he said to his friend, who stood behind him.

"Yes?" Jūgo replied, looking at him.

"Do you think that if you go all out, you will be able to restrain yourself enough to attack the orcs?"

"I…don't know." He had always gone into a berserker state when he went all out and never gave a damn about whom or what he killed so long as he killed.

"That won't be good enough, Jūgo. You, I, and the rest of the men here will need a straight answer. If you focus on the orcs, will you be able to kill only them?"

He did not answer for a long moment. "…I will try." In the end, that was all he could do. He could try and restrain himself.

"Thank you," Sasuke told him.

"Look on the bright side, Jūgo," Naruto said, standing on Sasuke's right.

"What's the bright side?" the orange-haired monster asked.

"There appear to be a lot more of them then there are us. So there's good chance that if you do lose control, you won't kill any men."

"…That's not much of a bright side."

"Hey, it's better than nothing."

"Naruto, could you please focus on what's right in front of us?" Shikamaru asked him with a voice that was bored, annoyed, and concerned all at the same time.

"They're just standing there, Shikamaru. There's really nothing can do about that."

"Naruto, focus please," Sakura told him in a gentle reprimanding voice.

He did as he was told and turned his attention back to the orcs, a serious expression taking its place on his face. His hands fell to his sides, folding themselves into fists. For a moment there was silence. Then he spoke again. "Hey, Sasuke?" he said to his friend.

"What?" Crabandir said back.

"When this is all over, you're coming back home with us."

Someone else might've told the blonde that he had poor timing. But Sasuke knew him and knew that he did it on purpose. "If you're deliberately trying to piss off the other Kages, I'd say you're off to a great start," he remarked with enough sarcasm to make it obvious.

"I'm not doing that and you're still coming home."

"And why is that? So Konoha can once again have the Uchiha in their grasp?" He was sure that the elders would just love that.

"Nope," his friend replied.

"Then why?"

"For a very simple reason: I want you to be the best man at mine and Sakura's wedding."

If he wasn't already standing still, he might've froze in place at those words. They repeated themselves again and again inside his head. "You're joking," he finally said.

"No, I'm not."

"Then you've gone insane."

"Now that was rude."

"You've got the entirety of the Konoha Eleven to choose from. You've got Kakashi, you've got Konohamaru, and you've even got Gaara or Killer Bee."

"I know that. I was still trying to decide between those last two before we came here."

"Then in the name of the Valar do you want me, a time bomb just waiting to explode on the peace you have undoubtedly created since I left, to be the best man?"

He rolled his eyes. "And you called me a dobe. I want you to be the best man because you're my best friend and the brother I never had."

The words wormed their way into his heart and he felt honored by them as well as touched. Really, he was. But that still didn't change the fact that there was a good chance he could start the next Shinobi World War just by going back. "It's still a bad idea."

"Sasuke, it's decided," Sakura told him, quiet but firm. When she said those three words, he found that he had nothing else left to convince them with. If they lived through this and they were adamant about it, he could probably sneak away from them and escape into the wilds. But there was the matter of Izuna.

Aragorn suddenly stepped forward to the orcs, almost as if he was in a trance. He lowered Andúril and looked like he was going to give up. But then he turned to look at the army standing there, at his friends and his allies. "For Frodo," he whispered to them. Then his raised his sword and charged towards the orcs standing before the Black Gate.

"There goes the king," Shikamaru commented.

Then Merry and Pippin screamed a war cry and followed their friend towards battle with swords drawn.

"There go the hobbits."

Finally, as if snapped out of their state of silence by the sight, the Men of the West, plus one elf, dwarf, Wizard, and half-elf, roared their own war cry and followed their King.

"There goes the army."

"And here go the shinobi!" Naruto exclaimed. "CHARGE!" he cried in a loud voice.

"Let us go forth with the power of YOUTH!" Lee cried as he led the charge.

"We're not young anymore, Lee!" Tenten reminded her teammate as she followed.

"I refused to believe that! You are as young as you believe you are!"

"_They never change,"_ Sasuke thought to himself. But he found himself running at their side, a dangerous smile coming onto his lips, his hand reaching for the katana at his side. His blood began to burn with the urge to see those who stood before him utterly crushed beneath his feet.

Like a wave that rapidly gaining momentum, the Men of the West charged at the massive horde of orcs surrounding them. They let out war cries like wargs baying for blood. They knew that what they were doing was a suicide tactic. They were throwing their lives away just so they could give Frodo extra time to reach his destination.

But if anything, that just made them run towards death even faster with their hearts pounding out the only drum beat they would ever need at that moment and with their blood singing the only song they needed to hear. Even Gandalf, who wasn't even mortal let alone a Man, felt those same things and he shouted his defiance just like the rest of them. Even as they were passed by the bigger folk, Merry and Pippin never stopped running or screaming.

But the two who led the charge, the two who were out in the front, were Aragorn and Izuna. The half-elf had charged first like the King had, but he caught to him all the same. They ran towards the orcs, their hands holding their weapons. "ELENDIL!" roared Aragorn, Andúril raised high.

"GIL-GALAD!" bellowed Izuna in response, holding Aeglos low. Together, they struck the orc line as one, the sword swing high and the glaive thrusting low. The orcs they struck fell with a single slice. As they began to fight, the Men of the West followed with them into the horde.

They smashed against the endless orcs like a wave against a rock, pushing against one another to reach the orcs. But as they crashed against the orcs like a wave, the orcs closed in around, springing the obvious trap. Those behind them came forward, intent on crushing them like an egg.

Sasuke was slicing orcs down left and right while making sure that nothing escaped his sight. The army was keeping itself together in the giant circle. They would let orcs fight their way in, but would not allow any man to fight their way out. The only problem with that was there were more orcs then there were men.

But in spite of that, he kept killing the orcs. Overhead, a hail of kunai fell on a group of the monsters, kill them instantly and letting him know that Tenten was there doing what she did best. A company of orcs was charging right at him. For a brief moment, he saw Lee by his side as he charged to meet them. As he blocked, deflected, knocked aside, and all but broke the weapons aimed at him before cutting the wielders down, he saw orcs flying through the air with broken limbs and snapped necks, showing that Lee was there.

They meant about halfway through the company, he cutting them down and the Konoha shinobi beating them to bloody pieces. "Hello, Sasuke!" Lee shouted at him while delivering a punch that sent an orc's head flying off of its body. "I see you are doing well for yourself on this field of battle!"

"Less talking, Lee," he said shortly as he plunged the katana into an orc's groin and swung it upwards. Another orc tried to attack as the first's body split into two but all he did was simply lunge forward and stab the creature in the head. He pulled out the katana and gave the dead orc a hard kick.

It was enough to send the corpse over to Lee who kicked it hard at the next couple of orcs, knocking them all down. "Yosh!" he exclaimed. "That was excellent teamwork, Sasuke!"

The Uchiha ignored him, choosing to fight his way out of the company and back into the battle. He found himself next to Gimli and the two of them fought side by side. "That lad you were just with, Sasuke," the dwarf began. "I've never seen someone fight with their body like that. I know a few dwarves who would be green with envy at the sight!"

"That's ironic," he remarked as he beheaded an orc.

"Why's that?" Gimli asked as he did the same to a different orc.

"Lee used to wear a jumpsuit of bright green. If he used it right and caught you off guard, you would've been stunned by how green it was."

The dwarf paused for a moment, seeing the image that had just been described to him. Then he shuddered and sliced off an orc's leg. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I am glad the man wore black!"

"You and me both," Sasuke replied. Strangely enough, the memory of their first meeting came back to him at that moment. It made him smile for a moment, although it disappeared when another orc came at him and he was forced back into the present, where he decapitated said orc.

"Still, the lad is strong."

"Aye, he is. Be glad that you never involved him in your game with Legolas, Gimli. Neither of you would've won."

They both heard the sound of an arrow piercing an orc's skull and they turned to see Legolas fighting his way towards them. "Speaking of the elf," the dwarf muttered before calling out loudly, "How high are you?"

"Twenty-eight!" came the reply.

"Ha! Then I am leading with thirty-one!"

A smile came onto his lips briefly as he stabbed an orc with his knife. "Not for long, I promise you that!"

"You're welcome to try, elf!" Gimli shouted at him while taking down two orcs with one swing. "Make that thirty-three!"

If it was any other time, like at Helm's Deep or Minas Tirith, Sasuke might've rolled his eyes at their antics. But all he could do was keep focus on the fight and keep killing any orcs. They seemed to have no strategy but with their numbers, they didn't really need one. All they had to do was rain down on their fewer opponents and hammer them until they were dust.

"**Gatenga **(Fang Rotating Fang)**!"** he heard Kiba shouted. The Inuzuka and his hound spun pass him, carving bloody paths through the orcs. And while they kill some orcs, they also left the line and were alone. The orcs that weren't killed filled the paths and surrounded the two.

"For the love of Kami," he heard Naruto groaned out loudly. "Hinata, please go and get your husband! He really needs to stop doing that."

"Don't bother," he heard himself call out. "I'll get him. Izuna, with me!" he told his student.

The half-elf heard those words and began fighting his way to his sensei's side. Once he saw his student, Sasuke sheathed his katana and began folding his hands into seals. **"Chidori,"** he growled out, activating the jutsu in his hand.

He charged through the orcs, cutting a new path through them all as the jutsu cried into the air. Orcs fell to it and Izuna kept the path open as they moved forward, away from their fellow soldiers and deeper into enemy territory. They quickly found Kiba and Aoimaru holding their own against the orcs. "Come on, let's go," Sasuke told the Inuzuka of the two while taking an orc and killing it with one kick to the chest.

"Right, thanks!" he said, already fighting to his side alongside Aoimaru. They quickly fought their way to Izuna and together, the four of them fought their way out.

"I had thought that you would've grown some in the past ten years, Kiba. I guess that I was wrong."

That got the Konoha shinobi angry. "Hey! We had it covered!"

"Of course you did. That's why the two of you were surrounded by orcs without a way out."

"Sensei, that's happening all around us," Izuna told him whilst beheading an orc. "There is no end to these orcs."

That wasn't the only thing about these orcs. The ones that Sasuke had hunted and killed throughout the years had armor and weapons that had been scavenged off dead bodies and were poor condition. They had also lacked discipline and would cower at the sight of his **Sharingan**. The difference between those orcs and the ones they were fighting now was nothing minimal. They had discipline, for they did not cower at the sight of two pairs of **Sharingan**, let alone one. They also had better weapons and armor, which were all in better condition.

"We are not here to win, Izuna," he reminded his student as they continued to cut a way out. "We're here to stall and distract."

As they reached their own line, they were met by Aragorn, Gandalf, Merry, and Pippin. The White Wizard smiled at the sight of them all, despite the situation they were in. "It is nice to see you take care of your friends, Crabandir!" he said.

Kiba's hand swooped down to his pouch and took out a shuriken. He threw it past Gandalf, slicing through the air right next to his ear, striking a tallish orc right behind the Wizard in the eye. "Would you tell that old guy to watch himself?" the Inuzuka told Sasuke. Before the Uchiha could reply, the battle swept them apart and made them lose sight of the other.

Sasuke was with Gandalf and the hobbits. Even though he had been separated from the Konoha shinobi, he still fought on, drawing the katana once again. The blade seemed to hum as it took in the violence all around them and his blood seemed to agree. This was where they were meant to be, on the field of battle and nowhere else. For a brief moment, he saw Jūgo in his complete berserk state, tearing through the orcs with gleeful joy. He wasn't sure if the man or the monster was in control but at that point, he didn't care.

He swung the blade at any orc who were foolish enough to meet him in battle and as he fought, he made sure to keep an eye out on the hobbits. Both Merry and Pippin were holding their own without any aid from him or Gandalf. They had come a long way from Rivendell. "Hey, Sasuke, what did that man tell you?" Pippin asked him.

"He told me to tell Gandalf to watch himself," he answered honestly.

The Took actually huffed. "Well, that's rather rude!"

"Yes, he could be a bit more respectful to Gandalf; otherwise he wouldn't be able to see any of his fireworks!" Merry agreed with him.

"_Okay, not as long as I had thought,"_ the raven-haired Uchiha thought to himself. The White Wizard couldn't help but chuckle at their antics. Even in the midst of battle, they found a way to lighten the heart.

A screech echoed through the air, making all the men turn their heads upwards at the sound. The Nazgûl atop their flying mounts were descending down from the Black Gate, claws out and jaws opened. It looked like things were about to end badly when from out of nowhere, a giant eagle appeared and attacked the leading Ringwraith.

"The eagles," Sasuke heard Pippin say with wonder in his voice. "The eagles are coming!"

"_What in the name of Kami is that supposed to mean?"_ the Uchiha asked himself. He got his answer when five more giant eagles flew down from the sky and bore down on the Nazgûl, beating them all back with their wings, beaks, and talons.

"The Valar have blessed us this day!" Gandalf said with relief and hope in his voice. Then he turned his eyes onto Sasuke. "Or is it you that we should thank for calling them?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he replied shortly before returning his attention to the battle around them. Even with the eagles pushing the Nazgûl away, there was still a lot of orcs to deal with. As he plunged the katana into an orc's head, he realized that there was one way to neutralize those numbers and felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner. But in hindsight, there was the added benefit of knowing he didn't think of it either.

"Naruto!" he shouted over the din as he fought his way over to the blonde. "We're outnumbered here!"

"I noticed!" the Seventh Hokage shouted back at him while killing orcs left and right with the kunai in his hands. The two of them quickly found themselves back-to-back, fending off the orcs all around them.

"Well then do something about it!"

"Like what?"

"Really, dobe?" he asked the blonde. "You're asking that question? What's the one jutsu you kept using every time when we were younger? I thought you grew a brain!"

"Oh, right!" He crossed his fingers into a handseal. **"Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** he cried out before activating the jutsu and washing the area with smoke.

Shouts of confusion came from the Men of the West at the sight of the smoke and they continued when the smoke disappeared and they saw multiple copies of the same blonde amongst them, enough to make an army. But before any of them could cry out "witchcraft" or "foul sorcery," the copies let out a war cry and attacked the orcs on all sides. It was enough to give them a moment to catch their breath and regroup.

The orcs were surprised by the attack of the blondes. They regrouped and attacked en masse. But these weren't any clones. They were clones of Naruto Uzumaki, who was unpredictable in battle at best and chaotic at worst. The clones attacked using everything they had in their arsenal, from kunai to jutsu, forcing the orcs back. Within a matter of minutes, the rearguard of the orcs surrounding the Men of the West was broken. If they wanted to, they had a way out.

But they weren't leaving, especially not when someone shouted "LOOK OUT, TROLLS!" All heads swung to the dozen of trolls slogging their way through the orcs in a rough formation towards the small army. Unlike the trolls that had been at Minas Tirith, these trolls were properly armored and wielded giant swords like they knew how to use them.

Unfortunately, neither they nor Sauron anticipated the Konoha shinobi. "Shikamaru, Chōji, Ino!" shouted Naruto in a voice that demanded attention and projected authority.

"Sir!" the three shinobi replied instantly.

"Take out the giants!" He pointed at the leading troll.

"**Baika no Jutsu **(Multi-Size Jutsu)**!"** roared Chōji as he grew to a size that easily rivaled the trolls, if not a little bit bigger. He leapt at the first one and knocked it down with one punch. Ino fell to the ground and one of the other trolls began attacking the others, catching them by surprise. Shikamaru kept watch over her body, using his clan's jutsu to attack any orc that came near.

"By the Valar!" swore Aragorn at the sight of the three of them doing what they did best. "What wondrous powers your countrymen wield!" he said to Sasuke when he noticed that he was near.

"I've noticed," he said shortly, keeping his back to Naruto and his focus on the fight.

"I think we're doing rather well, don't you?" Naruto asked him.

"In case you haven't noticed, dobe, we're still outnumbered by a large margin," he replied, parrying a sword-strike from an orc and caving in the chest of said orc with a kick. "And I'd be willing to bet that there are more coming, along with those armored trolls."

"So what you're saying is that unless we take care of them there, we'll be in a lot more trouble?"

He rolled his eyes. "Crude, but accurate," he conceded.

"Well, why don't the two of us get in there and take care of it?"

He kept on fighting even when he went still inwardly. "…I hadn't thought of that."

The blonde laughed. "Ha! See? I can think of an idea!"

"Shut up and let's get moving, dobe."

"Right," he said with a brief nod of his head. Then he turned that head to look at the nearby kunoichi. "Sakura, Sasuke and I are heading in past the gate and cleaning up from behind! Keep the others alive until we get back!"

"Okay!" she shouted in return as she swung an orc around like a large flail.

Together, the two of them turned to the gate and took off. Naruto leapt up into the air and came crashing down in his giant charka form. Sasuke, on the other hand, kept running through the orc lines, cutting his way through and activating his **Susanoo**. His own feet were soon replaced with the blue ones of the jutsu, crushing the orcs beneath and setting quite a few ablaze. Together, the giant fox and giant avatar ran through the seemingly endless horde of orcs and trolls, going right past the Black Gate and into Mordor proper.

As they ran, they took notice of the land around them. It definitely lived up to its name as it was all black, harsh, jagged land with no signs of green or even life. The fume from Mount Doom spawned an endless dark cloud that swallowed up any light that came from the sun. The only light that was shown was the harsh orange light from the Eye of Sauron, off in the distance.

"You know, this would not be a place I would vacation in," Naruto called out to Sasuke.

"That's why it's called Mordor," Sasuke called back. "It means the Black Land."

"I can see that." They both came to a stop at a point where the Black Gate was far off in the distance. But they were still surrounded by orcs. It was a good a place as any, so they started doing what they did best together: mass destruction. The orcs never had a chance.

As they wreck their own personal brand of death on the armies of Sauron, they knew how the other fought, keeping an eye out for one another and staying out of the way, all the while making steady progress back towards the gate. It was like they had never split apart for ten years. "Hey, teme, you missed one," the Hokage of the two called out.

"I see him, dobe," Sasuke replied as he swung the sword, cutting the orc and several others in halves. "There, taken care of."

"Nice to see you haven't lost your touch," he said as he slammed his claws into the ground, crushing several orcs.

"You know you're letting yours run free."

"No, I'm not."

"Then why do I see them running away from you?" he asked as he fired a black arrow into the army, sending a good deal up into flames.

"They're heading for the gate, that's not running!" the blonde objected as he fired a **Bijūdama** into them.

"Of course, how could I not see it?" He swung the sword down and carved out a bloody path amongst the horde.

"Hey, I can hear that sarcasm and it is not appreciated!" the blonde shouted with a scowl on his face. Meanwhile, his tails were working in full force in swiping the orcs below.

"If you have time to hear the sarcasm, you're not doing enough fighting. Do try to stay focused, dobe."

"You're talking to me, Sasuke! Maybe you should stay focused!" But even as they shouted at one another, there were small smiles on each of their faces. Things were beginning to sound like they used to.

"I'm not the one who has a short attention span," Sasuke said as he readied another black arrow.

"I do not have a short atten—WATCH OUT!" He shoved the fox hard against the avatar, enough to make him stumble away, and then moved out of the way of the descending mace. The weapon struck the ground with a resounding _CRACK!_ It echoed in the air, like thunder after it was done booming. The ground itself was unsettled by the strike, breaking apart and sending many orcs down into the cracks to their obvious deaths.

They both turned and saw a giant, black spiked armored being holding the mace. The helmet had grooves where the eyes were supposed to be, giving the illusion that the giant could see through it. The mace it was gripping tightly in its hand looked as equally dangerous and both shinobi were probably very lucky that they weren't struck by it.

Despite meeting him in person for the first time, Sasuke had seen enough pictures to know who it was. "I see you got impatient," he said to Sauron.

The Dark Lord didn't say anything in reply. Instead, he simply raised his mace and pointed it at the Uchiha. Suddenly, he felt an overwhelming force pushing itself against the **Susanoo**, making him a step back. He forced himself to make the avatar stand itself against the force. But it was exhausting. He had withstood many things in his life but nothing like this. It was just pure force that was doing a very good job of overpowering him and pushing him back.

But the force disappeared when the giant fox that Naruto commanded slammed into Sauron and bit the hand holding the mace. Sauron shook him off, sending him crashing to the ground, and swung the mace at him. Naruto moved out of the way fast enough, letting the weapon strike the ground with another resounding _CRACK!_

The land split open again, sending more orcs into the depths. Sasuke went at the Dark Lord, swinging the sword to catch the mace before it could rise up again. The charka weapon met the mace with a sound that echoed into the distance, like far off thunder. As they fought for control of the deadlock, the Uchiha noticed a faint orange light surrounded his opponent and it was coming from the top of the tower of Barad-dûr.

"_So, it's a projection,"_ he silently noted. _"But is it corporeal?"_ To answer that question, he raised the other hand and punched the Dark Lord right in the face (or where the face would be). Sauron obviously didn't expect that move and was unprepared for it, stumbling back and almost falling to the ground. But he regained it gracefully and turned his attention to him.

"Sasuke, circle him!" Naruto shouted at him. He instantly understood what the blonde was trying to suggest and instantly went to his right, slashing at Sauron. If the Dark Lord could roar, he might've in that instance. Instead, he just turned and tried swinging at the Uchiha. When he turned, Naruto lashed out, clawing at his backside.

The plan was simple, keep circling him and attacking him when he tried to attack the other. It wasn't a plan for an end move; rather it was so they could wear him out. But as they moved, attacked, and dodged his attacks (causing the earth crack every time), Sasuke had his doubts that it would not work.

Still, he kept with it, moving and slashing at Sauron. Pretty soon, he was hopping over the cracks in the ground, due to how many there were now. There was also no more orcs underneath, as they had all either fallen or fled. He hoped that they had killed enough of them to make a difference at the Black Gate.

As he ducked under a swing of the mace, he had move back when he saw that the mace already coming back. He managed to avoid it, but was surprised by the move. Naruto swiped at Saruon's back, an attack that would've made him turn back around to fight the fox. But instead, he kept his attention on Sasuke, ignoring the wound. He was getting faster, tougher, and most likely stronger.

He swung the mace again at Sasuke, trying to hit him. He swung the sword to meet the mace, having lost count of the many times they had done it in this three-way dance. But this time, it was different. The mace shattered the sword and took the arm with it. Sasuke was able to regenerate the arm and the sword in a matter of seconds but his opponent used those seconds to swing the mace again and send crashing to the ground.

Even though he was in the avatar of the **Susanoo**, he could feel the pain hitting his backside all the same and it hurt like hell. He could see Sauron standing over him with the mace looking all the more deadly.

"**I see you!"** he heard a dark voice speak in his ear. It was a voice that sounded like there were nails piercing every inch of his skin. It made him want to claw off his ears as blood leaked out. Even though he wanted to do those things, he couldn't. **"You are nothing! You are lower than the dirt beneath me! You dare to insult me when I could easily crush you? My Ring will come back to me soon and I will send you to your predecessors first! Be honored by that and know that when I am done with you, I shall deal the spawn of your predecessor!"**

"_Oh no,"_ Sasuke thought. _"He found Frodo."_ Already he could hear the screeches of the Ringwraiths coming closer as they flew away from the gate. If they found Frodo, it would be too late.

Sauron raised his mace high, intent on delivering the final blow. He was so intent that he forgot about Naruto and he paid the price. The Seventh Hokage leapt up from behind and grabbed hold of him, throwing him against his own tower. "Sasuke!" shouted Naruto, holding out a giant paw. "Fuse with me!"

"There's no time!" he shouted back as he got back onto his feet and readied another black arrow. "If the Nazgûl find Frodo, we're done for!" He began searching the air for them.

"What the hell are Nazgûl?"

"Those riders on the flying creatures," he answered, already seeing one flapping hard for Mount Doom. He nocked the arrow and fired it, sending it right at the beast. It saw the arrow and flapped backwards to avoid it, putting more distance between it and the destination.

"Shit, he's getting back up!" Naruto swore. Sasuke looked out of the corner of his eye and saw that the blonde was talking about Sauron.

The Dark Lord was indeed getting back up onto his feet and was staring in their general direction, more specifically at Sasuke. He began making his way towards them, his pace a general stride. "Kami take him," Crabandir muttered as he fired another arrow at the second Ringwraith. "Naruto, keep him off my back while I keep these guys away from!"

"Oh sure, you get the easy job!"

"Just do it, dobe!"

"Fine!" he said, turning to the giant enemy. He opened the jaws of the fox and fired off another **Bijūdama.** It hurtled towards Sauron but at the moment of contact, the Dark Lord swung his mace and sent it flying off into the distance. "Uh, Sasuke, tell me you saw that."

"Yeah, I did. Just keep him busy!" Sasuke told him as he kept firing arrows at the Ringwraiths. They were being kept back but they were getting closer every time he nocked an arrow.

"He's walking faster now!"

He could hear the pace getting faster, turning from a walk into a run. "Fire another **Bijūdama** at him!"

"You really think that would work a second time!?" the blonde asked rhetorically. They could both hear Sauron running and a quick look showed Sasuke that he was almost on Naruto. But that look had cost him and the Nazgûl flew closer to Mount Doom. He fired more arrows at them, but they flew away from them all and converged on the volcano just as their master converged on his friend.

He turned to help his friend, forgetting about the Ringwraiths. His bow morphed into a sword and ran towards Sauron, who turned to greet him with mace held high. He didn't think he would survive this battle, let alone win it. But his friend needed his help and he would gladly give it.

As they were about to come to blows, something miraculous truly happened. The giant form of Sauron disappeared and so did the tiny figures of the Ringwraiths, leaving their mounts flying in the air confused. Both Sasuke and Naruto were confused as well, until they heard a wail like sound coming from Barad-dûr.

They saw the Eye of Sauron bulging out and flaring up, like it was trying to escape its bonds. For a brief moment, they thought that was going to happen. But then the tower itself began to fall. It was a sight that they would remember for the rest of their life. It just collapsed in on itself and fell to the earth below, taking the Eye with it. The Eye kept bulging and flaring more and more as it fell until it suddenly disappeared and then exploded into a massive shockwave that destroyed the rest of the tower.

"Brace yourself!" Sasuke shouted at Naruto, even though he was already doing just that. He braced himself and waited for the shockwave to hit them. It hit them and it was all they could do to keep a grip on their braces and not be sent flying through. But just as soon as it struck, it vanished. All that was left was the fact that the land of Mordor was self-destructing.

And while that was comforting thought, one more worrying prevailed in Sasuke's mind. "Frodo! Sam!" he cried as he turned to Mount Doom, which erupting much more so then usual. Frodo must've succeeded in his quest and destroyed the Ring. But now he and Sam would be trapped, unless he and Naruto saved.

Without thinking about asking, he had the **Susanoo** leap into the air and onto the chakra fox. "Hey, I'm not a ride!" Naruto shouted in protest.

"Not now, Naruto! Head for the volcano!" he ordered as he began to meld his jutsu with the Hokage's. Already, the avatar was disappearing and became armor for the fox, which would protect both of them from the destruction more than if they were separate.

"Why would I do that? The thing's erupting!"

"My friends are there. They'll die if we leave them there!" And he would not do that to those two hobbits, who risked everything, even their lives, to reach that mountain.

Naruto gave a single look and then smiled widely. "That's all I needed to hear! Now hang on!" With a running start, the giant armored fox took off for the volcano, running faster than the destruction.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

For those of you who are wondering, Calenardhorn is the old name for the land of Rohan.

I'll be perfectly honest about those horses. I have no idea where they went before the battle. I mean, they practically rode there on horses, so where were they? This was my answer.

Those three lines that Shikamaru said during the initial charge are the same ones I always say to myself when I see that scene. I can't help it, they just fit so perfectly with the entire scene.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	33. Many endings and beginnings

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Chapter 33: Many endings and beginnings

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Frodo)

As he lay there in the comfortable darkness, he felt calm and relaxed. It was the first in several days that he felt like that. For too long he had been restless in his sleep, always worrying what he had carried ever since that night Gandalf back to the Shire, fearing that it would corrupt him. And in the end, it did. In the heart of Mount Doom, when he had the chance to throw it away, he had taken the One Ring for his own. If it wasn't Sam, he would've been lost to that accursed Ring.

But his dearest friend had been there to pull him out that darkness, telling to not let go. Together, the two of them fled the volcano as it erupted and self-destructed with the loss of the Ring. It felt like they had barely made out of there before the place collapsed into lava. They had laid there on a bare patch of rock that was large enough to make the lava flow past it. The last thing Frodo had seen before falling into welcoming unconsciousness was a purple fox of titanic size reaching them and taking them both in its paws, with Sasuke and someone else inside it.

And now, he was there in that darkness, feeling safe and comfortable even as he came out of unconsciousness. It felt like he was back at Bag End, in his own bed. There were birds singing in the air and he could feel warm and gentle light on his face. He no longer felt tired and worn but refreshed. But he didn't know why he felt those things.

"_I must wake up,"_ he thought to himself. His first attempt to open his eyes didn't work as they were sticky from sleep. But then he tried again and they opened, letting him see the light that he had felt. He also saw that he was in a bed and in new clothes. But the most surprising thing that he saw was the person who stood at the edge of the bed. "Gandalf?" he asked, hope in his voice. He hoped that this was not all a cruel trick by Gollum or Sauron.

But it wasn't. The Wizard was there, just like he had been there at Rivendell. His color may have been different, but it was him all the same. At the sight of him waking up, Gandalf smiled and he couldn't help but smile back. Soon those smiles broke out into laughter. Why were they laughing? They weren't sure themselves. They were just joyful. Joyful at the fact that all they had gone through and suffered were finally over and that they were alive.

They must've been laughing very loudly, for the door to the room opened and Merry and Pippin came in. "Frodo!" Merry said at the sight of his friend. He and Pippin were glad to see him again, alive and well. Without warning, they ran to the bed and leapt onto it, shaking their friend with gleeful energy. He didn't turn them away, but held them in hugs and laughed with them.

A loud roaring laugh came from the door, making Frodo turn his attention from the hobbits to look at the newcomer. "Gimli!" he cried joyfully at the sight of the dwarf, happy to see him again. His joy increased twofold as he saw Legolas come into the room and Aragorn followed. Together, the Man and the Elf joined the Dwarf beside the bed.

As he was glad to see that most of his friends were alive and well, Frodo's eyes kept searching for one more. And when he saw Sam standing at the door, dressed in clean clothes just like he was and smiling, he was relived. He smiled back at Sam, glad to see that he didn't look at him in distaste or disgust.

"Don't just stand there," Sasuke's voice told Sam as his hand gave the hobbit a hard enough shove to send him into the room.

Sam stumbled a little but was able to regain his balance. "There was no need to push me, Mr. Sasuke," he told the man at the door.

"There was when you're standing there," he answered as he walked in with Izuna following behind him.

"Sasuke! Izuna!" said Frodo with joy in his voice at the sight of the two. The half-elf truly looked different from he last saw him at Amon Hen. There, he looked unsure of his path, always looking towards his teacher for guidance. But in the time since, he had grown into his own confidence and was no longer unsure.

"Hello, Frodo," the half-elf said to him with a smile. "You are healing well."

"Indeed he is," Gandalf agreed.

"Is it over?" the Ringbearer asked the Wizard. It felt like a dream, to have his friends surrounding hi like this and he wanted to be sure it wasn't.

"Yes, it is," he answered with a grandfatherly smile. "You did a brave thing, Frodo. And for that, I am proud of you."

"What he did was nothing short of stupid," Sasuke said harshly. He scowled at Frodo. "You took one person alone with you as you traveled into the homeland of the enemy. Not even Naruto is that stupid and I've called him a dobe countless times! You could've gotten yourself and Sam killed!"

He stopped for a moment and the rest of the Fellowship thought that he was simply taking a breath to yell again. "But," he began, "you came back mostly intact and you did what you set out to do. I can't fault you for that." He turned his head to look over at Sam. "You kept him out of trouble?"

"When I could, Mr. Sasuke," the gardener answered honestly and truthfully.

"Sasuke, I thought I saw you riding a purple fox in Mordor," Frodo said to the shinobi.

"You did," he answered.

"But you weren't alone. Who else was with you?"

"My friend, Naruto," he answered again. The blonde and the Konoha shinobi hadn't been seen ever since they started coming back to Minas Tirith. He had briefly wondered if they had left to go back to the Elemental Nations.

"Oh, that reminds me," Izuna said, turning his attention to Pippin and Merry. "I talk to Lord Naruto on the march to the Black Gate and I asked him if he had seen any Ent-Wives."

"What did he say?" Pippin asked, eager to know.

"Ent-Wives?" repeated Gimli, feeling rather nervous about the sound of that. He had seen what male Ents could do and knew enough to respect and fear women, especially when they're angry.

"What is this you're talking about?" Sam asked, equally confused.

But the half-elf continued like he hadn't them. "That's the part that confused me. He said he didn't know but he became thoughtful." He looked over at Sasuke. "Sensei, what did he mean by, 'that just might explain the Forest of Death, though?'"

A spark of recognition appeared in Sasuke's eyes at those words. _"Ah, I see. That might explain it indeed,"_ he thought to himself. But to his student, he said, "I'll talk it over with Naruto, just to be sure."

"Oh, okay." It was really all he could say. But he hoped that the Ent-Wives were there.

"Now there's only thing left to do."

"What's that?" Merry asked him.

He looked down at Frodo. "Tell us what happened since Amon Hen."

All eyes turned to the Hobbit. He swallowed a gulp of air and then began telling his story. He told it all and no one stopped him. They listened as he told them about Gollum tracked them, them capturing him, and then him leading them to Mordor. He spoke of seeing Haradrim, being captured by the Rangers of Gondor, meeting Faramir, taken to Osgiliath, and then released (when he learned of Faramir's relation to Boromir and the latter's death, he wept).

He spoke of how he could feel the Ring growing heavier with each step he took to Mordor and how thoughts of wanting it for himself plagued his mind. They were told of Shelob and how he was captured and then rescued. And finally, he told them of Mount Doom, how he succumbed to the temptation of the Ring and would've fled with it if not for Gollum. They had fought for possession of the Ring and tumbled over the edge, with Gollum falling into the lava below, never letting go of the Ring. He would've followed, if it had not been for Sam.

For Sasuke, he felt a chill in his spine while he listened, even though he did not let it show on his face or body. There was one too many similarities between him and Gollum to be ignored. How they had obsessed over something, letting it drive them on to an edge that they wouldn't have been able to stop themselves from going over. The only difference between them was, like Frodo, he had someone to pull him back up. But unlike the hobbit, he hadn't gone willingly.

In the silence that followed, the only thing that broke it was when the shinobi turned to the Wizard and said, "I guess you were right back in Moria."

* * *

The coronation of Aragorn as King of Gondor and Arnor as well as the High King of the Reunited Kingdom took place a week later. Both the leaders of the Elves and the Dwarves traveled to Minas Tirith to attend the ceremony.

King Thorin III, also called Stonehelm, led the Dwarfish attendees, of which the remaining members of Thorin's Company were a part of. He brought sad news to the city as his father, King Dáin II Ironfoot, had fallen in battle in Dale when Sauron's forces tried taking it and the Lonely Mountain. But that sadness turned to joy and happiness at the sight of Gimli meeting his father in a hug and raucous laughter. There was even a moment of pride in their eyes when they saw the mithril armor Sasuke wore.

The Elvish attendees were led by Galadriel, Celeborn, and Legolas' father, King Thranduil. Haldir was also in attendance, following his lord and lady. There was a brief moment of tension when the Dwarves and the Elves met, especially between Thranduil and Thorin. But it was quickly taken care of by Sasuke and Izuna, with the shinobi pointing out to both parties that a fight while in the hospitality of Minas Tirith was not a good idea and the half-elf looking threatening with Aeglos in hand and **Sharingan** ablaze (both were quite positive that Galadriel had smirked during the entire thing).

Once everything had calmed down between the two groups and everyone had settled in, the ceremony began. It took place on the highest level of the city, before the doors to the hall of the King. There, Aragorn knelt on the steps before Galadriel, clad in regal armor that showed his status as a king and a warrior. In her hands was a crown that had been crafted by the dwarves long ago for his ancestor, Elendil. It was as those of the citadel guard, except loftier, pure white, with wings of pearl and silver in the likeness of a seabird. On it were set seven gems of adamant, and at the crown of the helm was set a single jewel, the light of which went up like a flame. It had been given to her by Izuna, who had offered it humbly before stepping back into the crowds. And now, she placed it on Aragorn's brow.

"Now come the days of the King," Gandalf declared for all to hear. "May they be blessed."

The newly crowned King stood up from his kneeling position. He took a deep breath and turned to face the crowd, his hand finding reassurance on Andúril's hilt. He saw the Tower Guard standing at attention and keeping the people out of the way of the path, allowing him to walk straight to the tree and beyond. The sight beyond the city was still something he was getting used to. Gondor had been sight of the black smog of Mount Doom for far too long. But now, the darkness covering Mordor was now gone and the mountains did not look so menacing.

The people of Gondor began to cheer at the sight of their King, who had finally come again. As soon as the cheering died down, he spoke. "This day does not belong to one man, but to all. Let us together rebuild this world, that we may share in the days of peace." They cheered again, much more loudly. Even his friends clapped in approval at his words.

As the cheering continued, a gentle wind blew in the air, causing what the blooming petals on the white tree to float on it and fall gently to the ground. It was a beautiful sight to be sure, even more so when the King spoke the words of his ancestor. "Et Eärello Endorenna utúlien. Sinome maruvan ar Hildinyar tenn' Ambar-metta _(Out if the great sea to Middle Earth I am come. In this place I will abide, and my heirs, unto the end of the world)_." The way he spoke the words were like he was singing an ancient song that was almost lost to the world. He sung it gently, making it sound like a promise instead of stating boldly like a declaration.

Then he walked down the steps and through the crowd. With every step he took, he saw the people he had fought saw the Steward of his kingdom and the Shieldmaiden of Rohan standing by one another, dressed to befit their stations, bowing their heads to him as he passed. The new King of Rohan stepped out of the line of guards, a deep green cloak hanging over his armor. He bowed his head but never lowered his eyes. The King of Gondor was not offended by such actions as they were both kings. The Bell Man was dressed in his mithril armor and his student wore his grandfather's armor. Both inclined their heads to him as he passed and he took notice of similar their faces looked.

As he walked, the Prince of Mirkwood came towards him. He did not wear any armor, only formal clothing and a thin silver circlet on his brow. Behind him was an honor guard of his people, following their prince. The High King met him and clasped his shoulder as he did the same to him. "Hannon le _(Thank you)_," the Man said to the Elf.

He just smiled and stood off to the side. The King turned his eyes to the banner that stood before him. It was a banner of Gondor, with its tree and stones. He felt nervous at the sight of it. But as it pulled away and he saw who was behind it, his nervousness vanished and was replaced with joy. For it was his foster-father, Lord Elrond, his foster-brothers, Elladan and Elrohir, and the woman he loved, Arwen, who held the banner in her hands.

She was dressed in a green gown that radiated in the light and wore a circlet that did just the same. When she saw him, a smile appeared upon her lips. They walked towards one another, like they were in a dream and they were afraid that they might wake up. But as they stood before one another, able to see the love they had for another, they knew it was no dream. He reached out and took the banner from her with a gentle grasp, handing it quietly off to Legolas. She looked down, breaking eye contact with him and confusing him somewhat. He reached out and lifted her chin so they could see one another's eyes.

They came together in a great and passionate kiss. The crowd cheered at the sight of their King kissing his beloved, twirling her around in the air. It was quite obvious what that meant. Not only had their King return to them, but they were also getting a Queen as well. Among the happiest were Arwen's father and brothers, who were glad to see her in the arms of the one she loved.

When they were done, they continued walking forward, hands clasped together as they went around the tree to the other side. The crowd parted ways for them, allowing them to see the four Hobbits standing amongst them. They wore what little finery they could get in such a short time, which consisted of clean shirts, pants, and brightly colored vests. They bowed their heads to the King.

"My friends," Aragorn said to them, making them raise their heads up. "You bow to no one." To their great surprise, the King of Gondor bent the knee before them and lowered his head in respect to them. Arwen, the Elves, the Dwarves, the other members of the Fellowship, and the people followed his lead and bent their knees in respect to them.

The four hobbits just stared at them all, hardly believing the sight. They had not expected it. They had come to honor their friend and instead, they were the ones being honored. But amongst them, Frodo felt like he shouldn't be honored. He had almost let Sauron win because he had desired the Ring. But these people did not know that and he knew that it would not be wise to tell them such a thing.

"Uh…we're not interrupting anything, are we?" the voice of the Seventh Hokage asked as he stood in the middle of the crowd, turning the attention onto him and his people. They had just appeared from out of nowhere, causing no small amount of surprise amongst the crowd (although keener eyes would later remember that there had been a brief flicker of a shadow above before they showed themselves).

"_As usual, his timing is amazing,"_ Sasuke thought to himself with no small amount of sarcasm. "As a matter of fact, you are, dobe," he said to his friend as he stood back up. As he did, so did everyone else.

"Oh, what are we interrupting?" the blonde asked with a small amount of sheepishness in his voice. He might've actually scratched his head with his hand if he wasn't holding something in them. In fact, they were all holding something.

"His coronation," he answered, pointing at Aragorn.

But instead of looking even more embarrassed, Naruto actually perked up. "Oh good, we're not late. I was afraid that we would be."

"What are you talking about, dobe?"

Instead of answering him, the Seventh Hokage walked forward towards the newly crowned king with his subordinates following right behind him. Mostly everyone unconsciously held their breath for what might come next, unsure of what it would be. "King Aragorn, I apologize on my behalf and the behalf of my men," he said to the King. "We left your side because we felt that a gift was required for your coronation."

"And what gift do you bring?" Aragorn asked him.

He looked back at the shinobi and nodded once. They dropped what was in their hands, sending it all to the ground with a loud _CRASH!_ People flinched back at the sound but it was a momentary thing. Once the sound had passed, they leaned in to see what had been dropped. What they saw were weapons and banners, all orc-make and bearing the Eye of Sauron.

"We bring the gift of Minas Morgul being cleansed and purged," Naruto announced. For a brief second, there was silence. And then, there was cheering and loud celebration. The city that had been lost to Gondor and had been tainted by the Enemy's dark sorcery was theirs once more. Minas Ithil had come again.

But that was not all the shinobi had to offer. "Hey, I see the tree started blooming," the Seventh Hokage remarked as he stared at the white tree behind him once the cheering had finally quieted. He had seen it leafless during the day after the siege and called it a sad sight.

"Yes, it began to bloom as we returned," Aragorn said to him. For him, he was glad to see the white tree of Gondor blooming once more.

"But it's the wrong season for it to bloom, it could die. Plus, it still looks a little sickly."

"You know, you really shouldn't be saying things like that out loud, dobe," Sasuke remarked pointedly. Already he could see the angry faces on the city's people. "If you're trying to get yourself run out of the city, you're on the right track."

But Naruto was calm. "Relax teme. I know what I'm doing."

"Really?" he asked. "It looks like you're trying to piss off the city."

"What? You don't have any faith in me?"

"Very little," he told the blonde. But it was a lie and they both knew it.

"In any case, why don't I help out a little with it?" Naruto asked rhetorically. Before anyone could reply or even tell him no, he turned and started walking towards the tree. As he came to a stop before, he looked at all of it, his eyes not missing a single detail.

"What is the lad doing?" King Thorin wondered aloud.

"I don't know," Glóin answered his king. He turned an eye over to his son but Gimli looked just as confused as they were.

Naruto reached out his hand and placed it against the bark of the tree. Then he activated the chakra of the Kyūbi. Those who hadn't seen him do that before were stunned and awestruck by the sight of him being engulfed by bright yellow flames without being burned. They thought that one of the Maia or possibly even one of the Valar had come before them. A presence filled the air, lying on their shoulders. It was a comforting presence, filled with warmth and gentleness. To them all, it felt like a friend was there, watching over them.

As he held his hand against the tree, Naruto pumped the chakra into it, bathing it with a warm light. As it took in the chakra, the tree began to bloom. At first it was with the petals of spring but then they quickly turned into the leaves of summer, shinning pristine white in the light of the sun. The tree itself seemed bigger and fuller of life as he stepped back and let the chakra vanished from sight. The people of Minas Tirith cheered at the sight of it now. No longer was it was a dead thing, stating that the King was gone. Now it had a full head of leaves and stood tall, proclaiming that the King had returned.

* * *

Soon enough, the entire city was swept up into a celebration. From the lowest level to the highest people were in the streets with good cheer and celebrations on their minds. The Enemy was gone, their city no longer stood under threat, and they had a new King and Queen. There was plenty to celebrate. The taverns were fit to burst with people as they celebrated, toasts to the King and Queen going up every few minutes it seemed. Even the dwarves and the elves had made peace one another to enjoy the celebrations (with another round of drinking between Legolas and Gimli and the possibility of their fathers doing the same).

But as all this happened, Sasuke and Izuna were not a part of it. They were being through the streets to the Houses of Healing, which had been emptied so the healing people could celebrate as well. "Okay, what's going on, Naruto?" Sasuke asked the blonde as they closed the door behind them and started walking down the corridor. Gríma followed them at a distance of five paces, not saying a word. "Why are we here?"

"There's something that Izuna needs to see," Naruto answered as he led the way.

"Then why am I here?"

"For support," he said shortly. "Sakura's waiting up ahead for us."

"So that's where she went." After the party had started, she had vanished from sight. Apparently, she had come here.

They approached the entrance to the first hall. "Sir, why are we here?" Izuna asked the Hokage, coming to a stop.

The blonde looked at him with a grim sadness in his eyes. "When we took Minas Morgul, we found someone in the dungeons, someone who had been there for a long time and kept repeating a name again and again."

Izuna's eyes went wide in surprise at those words. "You, you mean that…?" He couldn't even finish the question, only looking at the entrance with a jerky motion of his head. Naruto only nodded once. The half-elf shouldered his way past him and into the hall. Both shinobi waited a moment before following him, ignoring Wormtongue as he trailed after them.

Izuna looked around the hall, trying to find anyone that was there, becoming more and more frantic as he continued to see no one. _"Where are they?"_ he asked himself. _"Where are they? They aren't here!"_ Then he saw Sakura sitting on one of the raised platforms, holding what looked like another person in her arms. The second person's face was hidden from him and the body was shaking with sobs.

He went still at the sight of them both, uncertainty and fear halting his steps and his throat. Distantly, he heard his sensei and Naruto coming up behind him. But his attention was solely focused on the person in Sakura's arms. "Mother?" he said, forcing the word out.

The sobbing stopped as the hooded person lifted her head slightly. "Who's there?" she asked with a voice that was hoarse from too much shouting and screaming. "Who are you?"

"Mother, is that you? It's me, Izuna, your son."

She stiffened. "Am I dreaming?"

"No, you're not," Sakura told her reassuringly. "He's right there."

Izuna came forward and placed his hands gently on her shoulders while Sakura let go. She lurched back for a second and then forward, grasping her son in a tight hug, weeping greatly. The hood fell off as she held Izuna, giving Sasuke and the others a look at her face.

Wormtongue was the only one who made a noise, which was a gasp of surprise, shock, and horror at the sight of her face. But even though he was the only one who made a noise, it didn't mean that he was the only one who felt like that. Sasuke was horrified by the sight. Bile threatened to rise up out of his throat by what he saw, only to be forced down by his will. "What did they do to her?" he said quietly to Naruto.

"We don't know," Naruto said quietly. "But what she looks like is only after Sakura and Ino had healed her. What she looked like in the dungeon, I hope to Kami I will never see its like again."

Gríma walked around and towards Izuna and Gilrin. "My lady, here," he said quietly as he took out a handkerchief and held it out for her.

Both mother and son looked at him. "Who are you?" she asked, fear creeping into her voice.

Izuna came to his rescue. "This is Gríma, Mother," he explained quietly. "He serves me loyally and faithfully. You can trust him." Wormtongue looked at him with surprise. Ever since he had betrayed Rohan, everyone who knew him had looked upon him with distaste and distrust, if not outright disgust. To hear someone call him that and mean them too was something he never thought he would hear again. And he was glad.

But what was even more gratifying to hear was when Gilrin reached out, took the handkerchief from his hands, and said to him, "Thank you, Gríma."

"Mother, I'm so sorry for letting you be taken that day," her son said to her, his voice thick with emotions and tears appearing in his eyes.

Tears appeared what remained of her eyes as well. "No, I'm sorry for leaving you like that," she apologized.

Seeing the two reunite made Sasuke smile a little. He knew that his student hadn't been happy about the fact that his mother had been in Minas Morgul all this time. But now she was safe (horribly disfigured, but safe). But there was something about seeing the love they had for each other that made him want to do something he never would've done. "Naruto, we need to talk," he said to the blonde quietly.

Naruto only nodded in silence before subtly signaling Sakura that they would be stepping out. They turned and walked to a different hall, one that was empty. "What's up, Sasuke?" the Hokage asked him once they were alone.

The Uchiha felt nervous about what he was about to say. He didn't really know how to say it and he fear that it would end their friendship. But the truth had to be told. "It's about the night before we had set out for the Black Gate," he began.

But before he could continue, Naruto did for him. "Sakura came to your room and the two of you slept together."

He stared at the blonde with a shocked look on his face, unable to hide it or even try. "How do you know that?" he demanded. Had he spied on them?

The truth turned out to be something else "Because I was standing outside, keeping guard and making sure you two weren't interrupted," Naruto told him without a hint of malice or cruelty.

Those words shocked him even more, but they also knocked his head back into thinking and he soon figured out what was going on. "The Council put her up to this," he said.

"Yes and no," the Hokage replied. "Yes, the Shinobi Council would like an Uchiha back in Konoha and the way they figured it, if it wasn't going to be you, your child would work." His serious face softened a little. "But like I said, that's only one part."

"And what's the other?" Sasuke asked with a slightly angry tone to his voice. He felt like he had been cheated and used. What was worse was that his friend seemed to have known about it.

"Sasuke, do you think I'm a blind idiot? I see things, I watch, and I listen. Sakura may have given me three children and may be marrying me but I don't have her entire heart. There will always be a part of her that will belong to you."

He froze at those words, letting them repeat themselves in his head. It almost sounded like Naruto was lying just to please him, but he knew that the blonde would never do something like that. He sounded sincere and truthful. "Are you sure?"

The blonde nodded. "She wasn't coerced, manipulated, brainwashed, or forced into doing what she did. She did it of her own free will. I even asked to make sure that she was and she said yes."

"And you just let her?" There weren't a lot (if any) of people who would let that kind of thing just happen.

"Sasuke, she might not love me entirely but I love her," he answered. "She's the mother of my children and she's going to be my wife. When she has your child, I will raise it as a part of my family. Some people might get rid of either the kid or the wife, but not me. I will love them and cherish them. That's why I kept watch." He looked at his friend closely. "Do you love her?"

That night came back to Sasuke quicker than he thought. For a moment, he imagined what life would've been like if he was with Sakura. It was a nice image but that's all it was, an image. He had his chance with her and it wasn't there anymore. "I cherish her," he finally said to Naruto, choosing his words carefully. "And I wish the both of you a very happy marriage."

The Seventh Hokage smiled. "Thanks, Sasuke," he said in reply. "But that doesn't mean you're out of being my best man at the wedding, you still are. And I want you to do something for me."

"What?"

"Stay around until the baby's born. If you're going to leave again, you should at least see your kid before you go."

"…Alright."

* * *

It was two days later when the shinobi left Middle-Earth for Southern-Earth, for the ship that had brought them had arrived. Oddly enough, it was the same ship that had brought Sasuke to Middle-Earth all those years ago. But what had been the most surprising was when Elrond had hugged the captain of the ship and called him "Father."

There were many goodbyes from each side, as the shinobi had made friends with the Fellowship and the others in the short time that they had been there. But there was nothing as heartfelt as Sasuke's goodbyes to the Fellowship. In a rare display of emotion from him, he hugged each and every one of them, even Gimli who tried to protest. There were tears in the eyes of the Hobbits as he said his goodbyes, they took his hug and returned it vigorously.

The last person who he said goodbye to was Lady Galadriel. She thanked him for watching over and teaching Izuna, who had decided to come with his sensei to Konoha where he would learn to be a shinobi (his mother was coming along as well as Gríma, for he had decided that the penance for the traitor of Rohan would be to care for Gilrin for the rest of his life). But she also told him something else. "Middle-Earth has not seen the last of you nor you it. You will come back, Thorcan."

The ship soon sailed away and night quickly came, sending everyone to their cabins. Sasuke shared one with Jūgo and Izuna. That night, he dreamed.

The first dream he had was a hall of the whitest marble he had ever seen. Even the hall of the King in Minas Tirith paled to this sight. But while the marble was beautiful, the hall was plain in detail and yet, it didn't detract from it. There was a hallway behind him as he leaned against the entrance and he could hear the sounds of birds in the air from the other end.

But what dominated the room were the fourteen titanic thrones and the men and women sitting upon them. When he looked at them with his **Sharingan**, he deactivated the eyes almost instantly. The presence that they commanded showed that they weren't human.

He then noticed that both Izuna and Gilrin (who hadn't taken off the cloak she wore to hide the damage done to her) were standing before the thrones, looking up at the man robed in blue. Together, they both knelt down to him. "Lord Manwë," Izuna said in greeting.

"**Rise Izuna the Untainted, son of Madara,"** the Elder King said in a voice that was like the sky, encompassing all who heard it but gentle.

Izuna did rise to his feet but did not look the Valar in the eyes. **"You do not need to fear, Peredhil,"** the woman sitting next to the right of the Elder King said to him. Dressed in a white gown that sparkled in the light, she was Varda, the spouse of Manwë. **"You are here to be given a choice."**

"A choice?" he repeated, still avoiding them with his eyes.

"**You are Half-elven and you have served alongside good men and women in defeating the Enemy,"** Manwë spoke again. **"As such, I offer you the same choice that has been given to all Peredhil: will you choose the Elves and become immortal, or will you take the Gift of Men?"**

For a long moment, he did not answer and Sasuke wondered what his student would do. Finally, he said, "I will take the Gift of Men. But may I ask something in return?"

The Valar did not seem surprise by his request. **"You may,"** the Elder King told him.

"I wish to live as a normal man, not as one of the Dúnedain. If I am to live as a Man, I would not live long past the deaths of my friends."

"**Very well, if you wish it to be so,"** Manwë said, agreeing to it. Then he turned to the half-elf's mother. **"Gilrin, know that you were not abandoned while Minas Morgul. What was done to you will be undone."**

Before he could see or hear anything else that would've been said, Sasuke felt a cold breath on the back of his neck. Suddenly, he was yanked out of the hall and was being pulled through the air. He could see the world below him but it was blurred and out of focus, disappearing faster than he could look at them. The sky grew darker and colder as he was dragged away from everything he knew.

Finally, he was tossed to the ground. He was able to recover his balance easily and get back onto his feet. The first thing he saw was the large open doorway and what lay beyond, which was nothing. All he could see beyond the door was darkness. But from that darkness a voice came, whispering in his ear. **"You made a promise."**

Even though he had never heard that voice before, he knew it and knew who it belonged to. He also knew where he was, as Indra had been here before. "I wasn't the one who made it," he called out to the darkness.

"**You are him, you bare the power I gave you all those ages ago,"** the voice of Melkor told him, making his left hand itch and burn at the same time. The doorway was still open and the darkness was calling him.

But he did not want to go. He remembered his conversation with Aragorn in Moria, but he did not want to go. "Can it not wait?" he asked. "At least let me see my child before I fulfil the promise."

"You won't have to," Jūgo said from behind him.

He quickly turned around and saw him standing there. "What are you doing here?" he asked, completely surprised.

"Helping my friend," he answered before striding past him to stand before the doorway. "I offer myself in place of him," he declared to Melkor, his voice almost echoing in the darkness.

"…**You would do this of your own will?"** the original Dark Lord asked. **"You would give yourself up to my darkness to save the one who made me the promise?"**

"He didn't make the promise, his ancestor did. But yes, I do offer myself."

"**If it is freely offered, my brother has no right to take it from me. I accept you, monster. Step through and our agreement shall be made."**

"Jūgo," Sasuke as he saw the orange-haired man take a step towards the door.

He stopped and looked back. "Don't tell me to stop, Sasuke. You have much to live for and you won't be able to see it in here. Besides, he has the right of it. I am a monster. But I can do this evil thing for a good reason."

"I wasn't going to tell you to stop."

"Then what were you going to say?" he asked.

"…Thank you for being my friend."

He smiled. "Thank you for keeping controlled. Goodbye, Sasuke. I hope this is the last time we see each other." He stepped through the doorway and the great dark doors closed shut behind him.

The sound of them closing woke Sasuke up from his slumber. He sat up in his cabin's bed, seeing that he was still on the ship. For a moment, he would've thought that all he had dreamt was just that, dreams. But then he looked over and he saw two things.

The first was his student, Izuna, who was still sleeping. His blonde hair had darkened to complete black, the same color as his, and his pointed elven ears were now rounded. The second was that the bed Jūgo had been sleeping on was now empty. He was gone, willingly offered to Melkor. Jūgo would be gone now. What came next would be the third Dark Lord.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

Personally, I think that the coronation of Aragorn would've worked better if emissaries had been sent to witness the even. We're talking about the crowning of a king, that's an event that needs to be witnessed.

I will be perfectly honest with you all; I don't have a good grasp of the languages Tolkien created. If there's anyone who does have that grasp, please tell if I went wrong somewhere. The name that Galadriel gave Sasuke, Thorcan, is what I believe would translate into Eagle-caller but I have my doubts about it.

Izuna being given the choice of mortality and immortality was always going to happen. This isn't D&amp;D. You can't just stay a half-elf. In this universe, you have to choose one side or the other. You can delay, but you have to choose.

Jūgo going to Melkor was also always going to happen too. It goes back to Sasuke's belief in balance and whether a person could do an evil act for a good purpose and vice-versa or not. Plus, Jūgo was more fitting really. He is, after all, a monster.

By the by, when you have the chance, I want you guys to go over to the Author Dreaming of the Sky and read his story "The Colors of Darkness." Once you do that, drop a review to the Author about what you think of the story.

Now, I know it's already been two weeks and I'm sure that you've all heard about this already, but Sir Christopher Lee passed away on June 7th. For most of us younger people, we knew him best as Saruman the White Wizard from the Lord of the Rings and as Count Dooku from Star Wars. But the man was more than that. He had served in WWII and was an author and a singer along with being an actor (he also made a heavy metal album, not kidding here). He starred in several Hammer Horror films as Count Dracula and played the villain in the James Bond film "The Man with the Golden Gun" (an interesting fact about the man was that he was actually a step-cousin to the 007 author himself, Ian Fleming). And he was the only person in the Lord of the Ring's cast to meet J.R.R. Tolkien himself. He was one of those people who could do anything that he set his mind to and outclassed the rest of us.

So, once you start sending me reviews about this story, I would like all my readers to, at some point in the review (preferably in the end) to say hail to Sir Christopher Lee, one of the titans of the modern day world. We shall miss you and your classy evil characters.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	34. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.

A Shinobi of Middle-Earth

Epilogue

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Spirits/Ents talking"**

"_**Spirits/Ents thinking"**_

(Location: Minas Tirith)

"Hmm, no cell reception," the shinobi remarked as he stared at his phone. He had no bars whatsoever. But then again, he should've expected that. The Hokage did warn him that if he was going to send reports back, he would have to do it the old fashioned way. That would be difficult, considering that A: he was fairly certain that this continent didn't have messenger hawks, and B: he had never worked with a messenger hawk. Well, that's what he gets for begging for this opportunity for the past ten years.

Seeing that there was no point in staring at the screen anymore, he closed it and pocketed it. He walked out of the alley and back onto the street. People were bustling about, going and up down the street, giving him plenty of chances to blend in. He walked up the street, moving through the crowds.

As he walked, he looked around at the city he was in. He didn't really want to admit it, but this place made Konoha look like a ramshackle old town (which was ironic since this place was a lot older than his village and less technologically advanced). White stone seemed to be the choice of building material. Everywhere he looked, he saw white stone. It was in the buildings, the walls, and even the cobblestones. With their clean state, it gave the place a pristine look and feel. He had to keep himself from checking his sandals weren't leaving any dirt on them.

But it was more than just the city that gave it that something. It was the people themselves. They were happy. At every person he looked at, there was happiness on their faces, or at least contentment. Children ran down the streets together, shouting and shrieking in the way they do when they are having fun. Men and women were openly talking as they shopped, stood in place, or walked. They lived in peace and happiness.

"_A peace my dad helped forged if I heard the stories right,"_ he thought to himself as he continued to ascend the city. And he had heard the stories right, they were all he and his siblings had to go on for their dad. That's why he was here.

As he reached the entrance to the final level of the city, he noticed the guards standing in place before it. _"Hmm, that might be a problem,"_ he thought as he observed them. The Hokage had told him to go to the highest level of this city to start his search, but he never mentioned how heavily guarded it would be. That was just like Lord Hokage, always leaving a surprise for people.

He looked all around the entrance the surrounding area, trying to find an alternative way up. But to his frustration, the only way up would be to walk up the spur of the rock before him. It would probably be inconsiderate for the guards, but he needed to get up there. He backed away from the entrance, found a spot that was away from their sight, and proceeded to walk up the side of the rock.

At the pace he speed-walked at (running might've gotten a little too much attention), he was able to reach the top in under ten minutes. He hopped up over the edge, making sure that none of the guards saw him do that. Compared to the rest of the city, this level was relatively empty. There was a large and magnificent building back up against the mountain, but the rest was just a garden.

However, it was a beautiful garden. Flowers of all kinds basked in the light of the sun and took in its warmth. The crowning achievement of the garden was the tall white tree with silver leaves on its branches. There was an air of contentment in the garden that made him feel a little at peace with the world.

As he looked around the garden, he noticed a statue of black stone at the narrowest part of the rock, where beyond it was nothing but open sky. He walked over towards it and noticed as he got closer that it was made of marble. The statue was a man, staring out at the mountain range in the distance. Even though it was all made from black marble, he could tell that the statue had been carved in such a way that he looked like he was wearing samurai armor (and old samurai armor at that).

An odd thing about the statue was that its left hand was stretched out towards that mountain range, its fingers folded into the Seal of Reconciliation. How was it that the people of this land knew what that meant? They didn't have shinobi or anything close to jutsu. And yet, there was that seal he had seen and used many times himself while he was in the Academy. It didn't make any sense, until he looked up at the eyes and saw the three tomoe of the **Sharingan** carved into them.

It was only then that he realized who this statue was of. _"Hi, Dad,"_ he thought to himself as he stared at the statue of Sasuke Uchiha.

"Halt!" shouted a voice, making him turn to see a guard come towards him.

"_Took them long enough,"_ he thought to himself. But in trying to avoid a fight, he simply raised his hands to where they could be seen. "Do not worry, I mean no harm!" he shouted out in a slightly accented Common Tongue as the three guards came towards him.

"What are you doing up here? This is the Citadel!" the guard on the left demanded.

"Ah, that's where the king lives, right?"

They raised their pikes just a little bit higher at that question. "What business do you have with the king?" the guard on the right asked him suspiciously.

"I was told to go talk to him if I wanted to find what I was looking for. So, is there any chance of that happening?" It was probably a stupid thing to say, but he had to ask.

Oddly enough, neither of the guards said a reply. It was the one in the middle who wore slightly better armor. What he said was, "By the Valar."

"Captain, what is it?" the guard on his left asked him.

"Send for the King."

"Captain Beregond?"

"Go, now!" he ordered them both. They went stiff in the backs before finally lowering their pikes. With a salute, they took off for one of the buildings behind them.

"Thanks for that," the Konoha shinobi said to the captain. "It will make things a lot easier for me." He paused for a moment. "Is it possible to lower my hands now?"

"How is this possible?" the captain said, mostly to himself. "It's been well over twenty-five years since the Enemy's forces had laid siege to this city, but you haven't changed at all. My lord, how is this possible?"

"Uh, I think you might be confused about some things." He knew that he certainly was. "I'm just going to lower my hands and wait right for the king to come by." He did as he had said he would and the captain did not say anything.

It did not take long for the King to come out of the throne room and out into the garden. He was a tall man and walked with a regal stride that befitted his station. But there was also something in that station that told the shinobi that he had earned his crown, not just inherit. There were some grey hairs on his head, but they added to his dignity. The clothes he wore were of a good cut and he wore them like they were everyday ware (which they probably were to him).

"What is it, Captain Beregond?" he asked the solider, coming to a stop before him and looking him straight in the eye.

Before the man could even speak, the shinobi did. "Hi there, are you the king?" he asked Aragorn, getting his attention and the attention of his guard. "I was told to talk to you regarding my mission."

Aragorn didn't reply for he too had been struck silent by the sight of the man, just like Captain Beregond. It was like he was looking at a mirror that went back a quarter of a century. The man before him looked almost like his friend, the man known as Crabandir. There was only one thing different about him: his eyes. While the shinobi he had known and fought alongside with had black eyes, this one had eyes that were the green of newly grown grass.

But he knew that the man was a shinobi. It was clear in how he wore the headband of one on his forehead. He was also dressed like a shinobi, with black leggings and a dark blue shirt. Over the shirt was a jacket but not like what he had seen previously. There were no bulges on it that would indicate that it could hold something. In fact, it was rather plain and unadorned with a high neck guard done with the same kind of green he had seen previously. All this was worn beneath the brown of a relatively new traveler's cloak.

But even though the man looked incredibly familiar to him, he knew it wasn't who he thought it was. "Who are you, friend?" he asked.

"Oh, right, I forgot to introduce myself. Sorry," he apologized before straightening his back. "My name is Itachi Uchiha. I was told by the Nanadaime Hokage to find you in regards to finding my target."

His nerves cooled at those words and he calmed himself. Those words might mean something different then what he was thinking. But this was a stranger he had never met before. Caution was a good thing. "And who is your target?"

"My dad, Sasuke Uchiha," he answered. "The Hokage wants me to, and I'm quoting him directly, 'find him and drag his ass back home so he can meet the rest of the family he decided to dump on us.'"

If he hadn't met the blonde all those years ago, Aragorn would not have believed that those were his words. But instead, he just smiled. "It will be alright, Captain Beregond," he told the guard. "Go back to your post. I will talk with this man."

"As your wish, your Grace," the captain said, giving him a brief salute. He turned and left, leaving the king and the shinobi alone.

Suddenly, Itachi felt rather awkward. Here he was, before a king, and he didn't know what to say. He really should've paid more attention to those etiquette lessons Mom and Uncle Izuna had made him take. They had just vanished from his head! Fortunately for him, it seemed that the King was a mind-reader or something, for he chuckled and said, "Speak honestly and plainly. I will not hold it against you."

"That's good to hear," he said, full of relief. That relief almost vanished instantly at his question. "Soo, you knew my dad?"

"Yes, I did and I still do. He is a friend who is always welcomed in my hall whenever he comes by."

"Do you know where he is right now?" he asked, leaning forward to hear the answer.

Aragorn could hear the hope and urgency in his voice. He didn't want to disappoint the man but he had no choice in the matter. "Unfortunately, I do not. The last my family and I saw of Thorcan was well over two years ago."

The hope left Itachi's eyes at those words. But he wasn't going to give up now. _"Naruto warned you that this wouldn't be an easy mission,"_ he thought to himself. Then he frowned and said, "Wait, Thorcan? That's not my dad's name."

"It is a name that has been given to him," the High King of Gondor and Arnor told him. "It is Sindarin, an Elvish language, for Eagle-Caller."

He couldn't help but scowl. "I know what Sindarin is. My uncle taught me some of it when I was a kid."

"Your uncle?" the King repeated.

"Well, uncle-figure," he amended. "But I believe he was from here, Izuna Uchiha?"

At that, Aragorn smiled again. "Ah, I know him well too. How is he?"

"He's good. He's married and a father."

"That is good news to hear. We should send our congratulations to him." It had been far too long since he had seen the half-elf (although he was completely human now, according to Sasuke). But as he thought about it, his mind came back to what the shinobi had said. "What do you mean by the 'rest of the family'?"

"You mean you didn't know about it? I would've thought that my father would've told you or the rest of you guys."

"Tell us what?"

He couldn't help but sigh. _"Thanks, Dad,"_ he thought sarcastically. He had never met the guy and already he was causing problems! "Konoha's been getting children with a note addressed to the Hokage. The children always have black hair and the note always says that the children are Sasuke's and he wants Konoha to raise them." So instead of being the only child of Sasuke, he became the eldest brother, a role he was still trying to figure out.

Aragorn, on the other hand, was just surprised by what he was hearing. He had never thought that Sasuke would want a family. He had always seemed content to wander the world, never settling down. But he could also see the irritation on the young man's face as he spoke about his own father and he decided to do something about that. "Have you taken noticed of the statue behind you?" he asked.

"Yeah, I did. It's nice work."

"It was made two years after your father had come back to Middle-Earth. When he was approached about it being made, he agreed if only a similar one was placed in Minas Ithil, in pale white."

Itachi had a feeling he knew who the second statue was going to be of, but he still had to ask. "Who was the second statue of?"

"Your father's friend, Naruto Uzumaki," Aragorn answered. "We could not refuse him, for it was his friend who gave Minas Ithil back to Gondor."

"And my father's statue was placed here, because he helped defend this city." Suddenly, the Seal of Reconciliation made a lot more sense. The statues at the Valley of the End held their fingers in the Seal of Confrontation. Now, their descendants and successors had finished the fight.

"No. He _saved_ this city. If he did not use his abilities to summon that eagle, his reinforcements would never have shown themselves."

"_Oh, I doubt that,"_ Itachi thought to himself. He doubted that his adopted father would've waited for a signal to stop the siege. But that was not his concern. "Are you sure that you have no idea where my father is?"

"I am sorry, I do not."

"Kami take it," he swore almost beneath his breath. "Guess I'll have to start looking." He turned to leave for the entrance. Now that he was here in Middle-Earth, he had a lot of ground to cover.

But before he could even take two steps, Aragorn reached out and stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Now hold on, young man. I cannot let you leave the city at such a late hour, not when there is good food and a warm in my house. Stay the night so you will be better rested in the morning."

"I can't do that," he protested. "I have to get on the road and find him."

"I insist. It would also give me the chance to send out massagers to the other kingdoms. They will let others know of your being here and will ask that they help you in any way they can."

Itachi listened to those words and considered them. It would quite possibly a long time until he would have a good meal in his stomach and now he was being offered one as well as an actual bed to sleep in. Plus, the messengers would greatly help him in his mission. "Alright, I will take your offer," he finally said. "But I will only stay a night."

"Good," the King of Gondor said. "Please, follow me and be welcome in my hall." He turned and began walking back to his hall.

The shinobi followed him silently, only to pause at the steps of the hall. He turned back around and pulled out his phone. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up to take a photo. His siblings and the triplets would love it.

(Location: Glittering Caves)

"You know, laddie, I had been expecting you for almost a month now," the Lord of the Glittering Caves remarked as they sat at a table with the King of Rohan. The table they sat at was just one of many in the room, but they were currently alone.

"Sorry about that," Itachi apologized to them both from where he sat between them, with the dwarf on one side and the king on the other. "But look on the bright side. It saves me the trouble of going to Edoras to ask if the King has seen Sasuke Uchiha."

"It is only fortune that you found me speaking with Lord Gimli," Éomer remarked. He had come to Helm's Deep and to the Glittering Caves to speak with the leader of the Dwarven colony, only to have the son of Sasuke Uchiha accidently barge in unannounced. He had apologized to them, quickly explaining who he was and what he was doing there (before the swords and axes came out and after him).

"Still, it helps."

"Well, I'm afraid that I won't be much help, Itachi," Gimli said to him as he poured himself a tankard of ale. "I haven't seen your father in some time and I don't know where he is now."

"Kami take it," he grumbled, drinking the ale in the tankard before him. It tasted bitter going down his throat but he still drank it.

Éomer, on the other hand, looked rather pleased. "Then I have good news for you."

He looked at the King of Rohan, putting the tankard down on the table. "You've seen him?"

"Yes, not six months ago. He came to Edoras with a group of children, saying that a small band of orcs had attacked their village and made off with them. He had tracked them down, slaughtered the orcs, and brought the children back to safety."

"Aye, that sounds like Sasuke," Gimli remarked. Even after all these years, the raven-haired man was still saving children.

"Where did he go next?" Itachi asked Éomer.

"He went east, I believe."

"Good, I've got a direction now." He stood up from the table, ready to leave.

"Now wait a moment, lad," the dwarf of the three said to him. "You've only just arrived and you plan to set off once again?"

"I've got a lead on him. You expect me to just take it slow now that I've got his direction?" he demanded.

"Éomer King also said that it was six months ago. Where he went in that direction, he won't be there when you get there. You can afford to rest a day here and enjoy some feasting with us dwarves."

He could see the logic there, even if he didn't want to hear it. So he sat down at the table again. "Alright, I'll take another then," he said, lifting up his tankard.

"Good man!" Gimli said with a roar of a laugh. He took both his and Itachi's tankard to refill with ale from the keg at the wall behind him, returning in a matter of moments. "Here you go!"

"Thanks." The shinobi took the tankard and drank from it. The King of Rohan and the Lord of the Glittering Caves did the same and when they were done, they slammed the tankards down on the table, hard enough to rattle it but not hard enough to break the tankards.

"Ah, that's good stuff!" the dwarf declared.

"Indeed, you dwarves brew a good drink," Éomer praised him.

"I'll let the lads know you said so, Éomer King." He turned to look at the shinobi of the three. "So, Itachi, what do you think of my colony?"

"Well, I haven't seen much of it," he admitted. "But what I have seen was very beautiful." Even the room they sat in was beautiful.

It was a good-sized room that could easily seat about fifty dwarves. The walls themselves were made of naturally polished rock that added to the beauty of them. The rock themselves were marble but naturally imbedded in them were gems and crystals along with veins of ore that flowed through them like water. The polished part of the caves came from the underground streams and rivers that had carved them out so long ago and still lingered in places, filling the caves with the sound of softly flowing water.

To the dwarves who lived there, the sound was musical in such a way that no elf could compare to do. They found it soothing and relaxing (which was saying something, considering they liked their music loud and merry). Lanterns had been carefully installed in the cavern walls, filling them all with light. They made the gems, the crystals, and the veins twinkle, giving the room an illusion of life.

"I would have to say that if any shinobi from Iwa were here, they would be very jealous at what they saw," Izuna finally said. "In fact, I would say that they would probably try to destroy it all."

To his surprise, Gimli laughed. "Ha-ha! I've had the same comment from both father and son now! My lads will be pleased to hear that!"

"My dad said the same thing?" he asked, surprised by that.

"Aye, back when the Fellowship was going through Moria," he answered. His face became more solemn. "Before things took a turn for the worse, that is."

Itachi saw his face and wanted to know what he meant. "What happened?"

"You hadn't been told?" Éomer was interested. The Fellowship's journey through Moria was not one part they did usually talk about. He hoped to hear the story now.

"No, my parents weren't there when it happened." They could tell him plenty about his father's early days, but anything in Middle-Earth before Minas Tirith was a blank. "What happened there?"

"It's best not to talk about it," the dwarf said shortly. It was still painful for him to think about those days, even after all that had happened. "Now tell me, why you ended up here a month later than I thought you would."

"I was told about the statue in Minas Ithil and I thought that my dad might be there, so I traveled there to look around." He hadn't found Sasuke there, but the visit around the city wasn't worthless to him. "I met the ruler of the city and his wife. I think their names were Faramir and Éowyn."

"You speak of my sister and her husband," Éomer said, a happy smile appearing on his face. "How are they?"

"They and their son are well. I believe that another one is on the way."

The smile grew wider. "I am to be an uncle again? This is most joyous news!"

"I will drink to that!" Gimli said.

Itachi smiled. "Your nephew will have his hands full in time. I know I did with my brothers and sisters."

Both King and Lord looked at him when he spoke those words. "I would say that even though you say those words, you still care for them," Éomer finally said.

"Ah hell, I didn't mean like _that_," he said feeling a little insulted at the thought. "I mean sure, they can vastly irritating at times and can drive me up a wall faster than I can blink, but I love them all the same. If someone harmed any one of them, they wouldn't live long enough to regret it."

A pang of worry entered the Lord of the Mark at those words, for he remembered who left with Sasuke and Izuna all those years ago. "Itachi, isn't there a man of Middle-Earth living in your clan's home?"

The shinobi frowned slightly at the question, trying to figure out where he was going with this. "Yeah, he serves Izuna's mother. I think that he once said that his name was Gríma. What about him?"

"You say that you would protect your family, yet you entrust them to the sight of him?"

To both his surprise and Gimli's, Itachi laughed. "Are we talking about the same guy here? He's the man who babysat me whenever I was left alone in the house! He's the one who cares for all the children in the Uchiha compound. He's never betrayed us, not once. For the love of Kami, his name is Yūjin."

"…What does that mean?"

"It means friend. He's our friend."

The King of Rohan did not say anything to that. He had known Gríma before his betrayal and might've considered him a friend. But his betrayal had colored that for the rest of his life. And yet, it had been twenty-five years since they had last met. Perhaps he had changed for the better (it certainly seemed like that after he had killed Saruman).

"Actually, he always said he had something to tell the King of Rohan if he ever had the chance," the shinobi continued, more to himself than any other.

"And what would that be?"

"'I am sorry for what I have caused.'"

He was silent for the longest time before finally answering. "When you return to your home with your father, tell him that I forgive him."

"I will, you have my word."

(Location: Mirkwood)

When he stepped on a single fallen tree branch in the forest of Mirkwood, he was surrounded by elves with bows drawn at him. They had thought him to be an orc scout. After he had assured them that he wasn't, they took him to the King of Mirkwood. He was lucky to find that it turned out to be another of his dad's friends: Legolas.

"You are welcome to stay in my halls," the elf welcomed him with open arms. Unlike Aragorn or Gimli (who had some grey in their hair), he looked exactly the same as he did twenty-five years ago. The only difference about him from what Itachi had heard was now he wore his father's crown.

"That's okay, but I really need to get back on the road," he replied. Going east had been a bust when he learned in Dale that his dad had turned and gone west.

"Surely you can spare a few minutes to rest and collect your breath?"

He looked around the room they were in. It honestly looked like they were standing in the middle of a hollowed-out tree (which he didn't find all that surprising, really. He had heard about the elves from Uncle Izuna). It had a roof, which that this wasn't the only floor in the tree. The only other person that was there was a female elf with red hair the color of copper. She did not say anything to him, but he had seen her stand close to the elf king when he was brought before him.

"You're right, a few minutes won't hurt me," he agreed. He could tell that the elf wanted something from him but so long as it wasn't evil or ill-intended, he was fine. "So, what do you want to know?"

If Legolas was surprised or caught off guard by the question, he did not show it. In fact, he just smiled. "How is Izuna? I have not spoken with him since he had left. According to Sasuke, he has chosen the gift of Men."

"Wait, my dad was here?"

"Some years back."

The hopeful look he had on his face fell just as quickly as it had appeared. "Damn."

"I am sorry." The elf did look apologetic for his words and his news.

"It's okay," Itachi said, waving it off. "As for Izuna, he's human alright. He said that the Valar gave him the choice and that they also healed Gilrin."

"Truly, they did?" Legolas had seen Izuna's mother before they had left Middle-Earth. It was a horrible and saddening sight to remember. To hear that the Valar had healed her was heartening news.

"That's what I've been told. I should probably also mention that he's married."

"That is good news to hear. Is he a father too?"

"Yeah, that he is. I would know. I'm engaged to his eldest daughter." And it had been a fight in and of itself to make sure that she had stayed home. He loved her all the same and didn't resist the idea of marrying her, but this was a mission he wanted to do by himself.

"Engaged?" the red-headed elf said. It was the only time she spoke.

"Sasuke had told me of this once," Legolas said to her, turning to face her. "It's like a betrothal." Itachi saw the warmth in his eyes at the sight of her. It was small, but it was there.

"Hey, Izuna and his mom wanted to talk to some people here if they ever had the chance to come back," the shinobi said. "I figured that since I'm here and they're not, I should pass on their words. Would you know them by any chance?"

"I might, if I know who it is they wished to speak to."

"I'll be honest; I wasn't really paying attention to what they were saying at the time." He was more focused on eating his dinner at the time. "I think the first was a lady name Gala…something."

"The Lady Galadriel?" repeated Legolas.

He nodded in acknowledgement. "Yeah, that sounds about right. So, is she here or is she at the other forest?" He knew there were two places in this part of Middle-Earth that Elves lived in and that she lived in one of them.

But Legolas simply shook her head. "I am sorry, but Lady Galadriel, her husband, and Lord Elrond have gone to Valinor, the Undying Lands."

"Oh." What else could he say? He didn't know the people. "I guess I'll have to tell them when I get back."

"Do not feel sad. They had lived a long life that was well-served. And Frodo has gone with them as well."

Now, he had heard that name. Izuna had spoken of the hobbit Ringbearer many times and was always worried about what might've happened to him after they had left. "That is news I think they will be happy to hear," he said.

(Location: Bag End)

"I'm looking at a door in a hill," Itachi said as he stared at the door in question. "I'm looking at a door in a hill." He knew he had already said it but it was worth saying over again. "…Oh hell, they wouldn't believe me if I didn't show them." He took out his phone and took a picture. He had been two that a lot in the three months he had been in Middle-Earth, taking pictures of everyplace he had been to, from Minas Tirith to Erebor (where he got a photo of statue of Madara Uchiha sitting on the skull of a dragon like it was a throne) and everywhere in between. But this just took the cake.

Once he was done with taking a picture, he put the phone away and walked up to the door. It was a round door with a nice shade of green for color. It also reached his mid-chest. He reached out and knocked. On the third knock, it opened to reveal a very tiny child, who looked shorter than his youngest brother. "Yes?" she said, looking nervously up at him.

He knelt down to her level, placing a knee in the ground. "Hi, is this Mister Gamgee's house?" he asked.

She didn't answer him. Instead, she turned back to the inside of the house in the hill. "Papa, there's a Big Folk wanting to talk to you!" she shouted.

"_Well, at least she didn't slam the door in my face,"_ he thought idly while standing back up and rubbing his ear. It didn't take long for what he could only assume was an adult Hobbit come to the door, picking up the child in the process.

"Can I help you?" the hobbit asked him.

"Mr. Gamgee?" he asked back.

"Yes."

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Itachi Uchiha."

He would've continued had the hobbit not interrupted him. "And you're looking for your father, Sasuke Uchiha."

He was surprised. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

At that, he smiled. "We do get letters here in the Shire, Mr. Uchiha. Quite frankly, we were expecting you sooner. Please, come in." He stepped back into the hole and Itachi stepped in. To his surprise, he found that what lay beyond was nice and homey, making him feel instantly comfortable.

But he had only taken a few steps before he banged his head on a beam. Being a shinobi, he was able to stifle his yelp of pain. However, he still had to rub his head. When he heard the sound of flesh hitting wood, Sam looked back at him and smiled. "Pardon me, I should've warned you to duck."

"It's fine. Is there any chance we can talk about my dad soon?"

"It can wait until dinner. Pippin, Merry, and their families will be joining us. Then we can speak about of your father."

* * *

Dinner, as it turned out, proved to be worthy of being a hobbit dinner, which meant it was full of laughter, warmth, drinks, and good food. Little hobbit children kept chattering at one another, seemingly oblivious to what the adults were talking about.

"So, he was here recently?" Itachi asked the three remaining hobbits of the Fellowship. They all had grey in their hair and had put on a few pounds, showing that they were no longer young by hobbit standards.

"Yes, a few weeks back," Pippin answered. Both he and Merry were now the tallest Hobbits to have ever been born (how they got like that, they never would tell). "He stayed in the Shire for a couple of days before moving on south."

"Da…ng it," he said, quickly changing what he was going to say after getting the attention of the mothers in the room. "I missed him."

"We were wondering about that," Merry said to him. "What was taking you so long to get here?"

He hesitated, unsure if he should give an excuse. But honesty seemed to be the best policy around here. "I've run into orcs taking children and I've gone after them each and every time," he told them quietly, not wanting the kids to hear his words.

The three of them just laughed. "Like father, like son," Sam said wisely. Itachi took that as a complement.

"But what are orcs doing their old tactics again?" Pippin wondered loud enough for only them to hear after giving his wife an apologetic look.

"I don't know, Pip," Merry told his friend. "I think that's something we'll have to ask the Big Folk about."

"For now, let us focus on dinner," Sam suggested to them all. They heartedly agreed and they turned their attention back to the food. Itachi could only think of his family back home during his childhood. The triplets would always try and drive him crazy (Haru less so then his sisters) like older siblings were prone to do. Then his own siblings began being sent to Konoha and the family just grew bigger.

As the night wore on, the children began falling asleep and their mothers declared that it was time to go to sleep. They protested (as all children are prone to do) but eventually agreed. As they were ushered into a room to share and sleep in, Pippin's children wanted him to sing them a song, a plea that all the children began to give him.

With a smile, he agreed and fetched his instrument while the rest of the adults watched from the door. He soon played a song that was both sweet and sorrowful. To those who had heard before, it was a reminder of all those they had met and lost in the years. To Itachi, it was reminiscent of an adventure.

(Start The Last Goodbye)

I saw the light fade from the sky  
On the wind I heard a sigh  
As the snowflakes cover  
My fallen brothers  
I will say this last goodbye

Night is now falling  
So ends this day  
The road is now calling  
And I must away

Over hill and under tree  
Through lands where never light has shone  
By silver streams that run down to the sea

Under cloud, beneath the stars  
Over snow and winter's morn  
I turn at last to paths that lead home

And though where the road then takes me,  
I cannot tell  
We came all this way  
But now comes the day  
To bid you farewell

Many places I have been  
Many sorrows I have seen  
But I don't regret  
Nor will I forget  
All who took that road with me

Night is now falling  
So ends this day  
The road is now calling  
And I must away

Over hill, and under tree  
Through lands where never light has shone  
By silver streams that run down to the sea

To these memories I will hold  
With your blessing I will go  
To turn at last to paths that lead home

And though where the road then takes me,  
I cannot tell  
We came all this way  
But now comes the day  
To bid you farewell

I bid you all a very fond farewell

(End The Last Goodbye)

They were all asleep by the time he had strummed the last chord. He smiled and walked quietly out of the room. "You play well," Itachi told him.

"Thank you," he said. "I suspect that you will want to leave now, right?"

"Yes," the shinobi answered with a nod of his head. He felt a little embarrassed but if he was this close to finding his father, he had to go.

But to his surprise, none of the hobbits looked like they were angry with him. "We understand and we wish you a good journey," Sam told him.

"Before you go, we want you give this to Izuna when you see him next," Merry said, handing him a bag of something.

"What is it?"

"Longbottom Leaf," he said with a grin. "Pip and I figured that he would be missing the stuff."

(Location: Konoha)

The gates were a familiar sight for Izuna that brought him relief. It had been well over a year since he had seen them last. As he took a step towards them, he stopped and looked over at his father. "Do you need a minute?" he asked.

"I'm not something fragile that needs to be handled with care," Sasuke told him. "Let's get a move on."

"Alright, Dad," he said, turning back to the gates and started heading towards them. The footsteps behind him told him that his father was following him.

It felt a little weird to be near the man he had looked for in Middle-Earth after wondering what he would be like all these years. He had finally found the man on a beach near the Grey Havens, speaking to an elf holding a harp. When he looked at Itachi, he had stopped. The elf seemed to understand and said goodbye, leaving them alone.

Some people (the triplets and a few of his sisters) might've expected there to be a lot of words, introductions, and hugging. But the truth was far simpler. Sasuke had said that he was his son and that he had come to get him and bring him back to Konoha. Itachi nodded and said that was true.

His father's reply was, "Well, we might as well get a move on. It's been long enough already."

To Itachi's surprise, the same ship that had brought him was waiting offshore for them (but his dad wasn't). A boat was sent to them and it took them to the ship. From there, it sailed to the Elemental Nations, taking them back home.

And now, they were here. They were home. Itachi couldn't help but smile as he looked at the city that lay beyond the gates. Despite all that he had seen while in Middle-Earth, Konohagakure was still the most beautiful sight to him. He stepped through the gate, waving at the guards on duty that day. They waved back but then stopped when they saw who was walking beside him. Thankfully, they didn't say anything.

"We have company," Sasuke declared suddenly, coming to a stop.

Itachi looked at him and then looked at the village. He did see someone coming towards but the sight of the person made him relax. "Uncle Izuna," he said in greeting to the elder Uchiha.

"Itachi, I see you were successful," Izuna remarked before looking at Sasuke. "Sensei," he said with a bowed head.

"You grew out your hair," Sasuke remarked. The last time he had seen his student; his hair reached the back of his neck. Now, it was right between his shoulder blades. But that wasn't the only thing that had changed about his student. His face had a few lines in it now, showing how old he was.

"And you grew a beard." There was indeed a beard of his sensei's face. It was thick enough to keep his face relatively warm through a winter and it was short enough to make it look like it was still a part of his face and not hanging off it. Aside from that, there were obvious grey hairs on his head and his beard and his face had more lines then Izuna. Like the rest of the Fellowship (with the exception of Legolas), he wasn't a young man anymore.

"Where is everyone?" Itachi asked Izuna, looking around and seeing no one else. "I would've thought they would be here in force."

The former half-elf just smiled. "They're all waiting at the house, your mother and Lord Hokage too."

"Does that mean the triplets are going to be there as well?" he asked, suddenly fearful.

He laughed. "Don't worry. They've grown up, remember?"

"Forgive me if I have a hard time believing that some days." They were older than him and he was the one who acted like an adult! Before he forgot, he handed his uncle the package the Hobbits had given to him. Izuna took it with a smile, barely looking at the symbol on it.

Together, the three of them walked deeper into Konoha. As they walked, Sasuke looked at his hometown. While the village below the mountain remained relatively the same, it was up and behind the Hokage Mountain where the changes were shown. He saw tall buildings made of glass and steel towering over the mountain, shining brightly by the light of the sun. The streets were crowded more so then he was here twenty-five years ago. But back then, he only stayed for nine months, long enough to see his son being born and hold him.

Now that son had tracked him down and brought him back. If the truth was being told, he had been expecting it for the longest time and when he got messages from Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and the Hobbits, he knew the time had come. During the time they spent on the ship, they talked. Izuna had shown him the most recent photo of all his children, which he smiled at. He knew that convincing their mothers that they would be safe in Konoha was the best thing he ever did (and he didn't forbid their mothers from visiting them).

They soon came away from the busy streets and onto quieter ones. The people who walked there gave respectful nods to both Izuna and Itachi while giving Sasuke odd ones (only the eldest of them knew who he was and they did not say anything. It had been too long already to come at for what he did). "This place has changed," Sasuke finally said once all the eyes were past them.

"Yes, and for the better," Izuna told him.

At that, he scoffed. "I'm sure that there are still troubles in this part of the world."

"…Yes, there are. Some countries believe that we should go back to separate villages and countries, not wanting to be a part of the Shinobi Union. There are also people trying to grab more and more power inside the Union." As a leader of the revived Uchiha clan, he had a voice in the Union and the village, something that he tried his best to do. "Are there troubles in Middle-Earth?"

"Of course there are. Orcs are getting smarter and creating bigger groups again and are back to their own tricks again, but it's nothing we haven't been able to handle."

"That's good to hear." If it wasn't something his sensei couldn't handle, he'd been worried.

They soon turned a corner and Sasuke saw the Uchiha crest standing proudly over a gate. He knew that beyond the gate lay the clan compound and yet, it wasn't where he had last remembered it. It was closer to the village proper. Standing at the gate were his two closest friends. "I see you finally decided to get rid of all that hair," he said to Naruto as he came closer.

The Hokage smiled as he ruffled a hand through his short greying hair. "I would've looked ridiculous if I kept it at that length at my age. It's good to see you again, Sasuke."

"You too, Naruto," he said as he looked over at the woman beside him. "You look good, Sakura," he told her.

"Flatterer," she said with a smirk on her face. They all had grey in their hairs and they all had lines on their faces, but she managed to make it all look more graceful than either of them did.

"Lord Hokage, I would like to report that the mission was a success," Itachi said to Naruto, coming to attention.

"I can see that. At ease, Itachi," he replied. "Well, let's get this show on the road. I've already got the rest of the Konoha Eleven and their families coming over for dinner. I hope you took pictures."

"Yes, I did. A lot of them too."

"That's good. I look forward to seeing the rest of Middle-Earth now," Sakura said before giving her husband a pointed look.

"Hey, my second trip was a grand total of fifteen minutes in a forest surrounding a tall iron tower making sure that Ent women made back safely to the rest of their kind. How many times do I have to say that?"

"That reminds me, sir," Itachi said, getting his attention. "An Ent named Treebeard wanted me to pass on his thanks to both you and Sasuke."

He smiled at that. "Good to hear." He looked over at Sasuke. "Shall we?"

His friend nodded once and began walking towards the house that lay beyond the gate. It was a large house done in the traditional style, something that suited right with him. The door that led into it was big and made of oak that showed its age. The doorknob was bright and shined in the light. But when he reached for the knob, his son stopped him.

"I got this, Dad," he said. "You just stand right there." He reached for the door and turned the knob, opening it. He stuck his head in and shouted, "Hey guys! I'm back! And you're not going to believe who's with me!" He pulled his head out and stood off to the side.

If Sasuke had any questions as to why his firstborn would do something like that, they were gone when the rest of his children burst out of the house and bore down on him, all shouting "DAD/DADDY!"

They slammed him and sent him crashing to the ground. As he laid there on his back, all fifteen of them crowded around his body, talking at the same time, from his eldest daughter telling him that she was happy to see him again to hearing his youngest sons exclaiming that he had been in time to see them graduate from the Academy. He couldn't move from his spot because they had pinned him so well.

All he could do was move his head around. And amidst the swarming black-haired children he had held soon after they were born, he saw Naruto and Sakura standing there with grins on their faces. _"They planned this,"_ he silently realized.

"Welcome home, Sasuke," Sakura told him.

And to that, Sasuke Uchiha smiled a genuine smile. "I'm home."

**End**

**Author's Note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

Well, this story has come to an end. I will admit that my interest in it was flagging at the end, hence why it took so long to update it. But even though that was the case, I will keep my promise to you all and write a prequel in the future. You guys have been expecting it after all.

This is intended as a wrap up chapter, giving a glimpse into what came next. So there's not going to be a whole of information to give out, just enough to know that things are fine, so to speak. I might come back and flesh it up a little, but I stress the word _might_.

And yes, that elven guard was Tauriel.

I'll see you all in the next story!


End file.
